The Worst Witch 2017 - Ethel's Accident
by the stargate time traveller
Summary: In second year, Ethel Hallow, once more trying to prove herself to her parents, but ends up learning more about what a true parents can offer.
1. Chapter 1 Now you see me now you don't

Something different for you to enjoy, feedback would be appreciated, and my thanks to ImaginationFan for the idea.

Now you see me…. now you don't - GONE!

Sitting in the library surrounded by piles of books, Ethel Hallow was shaking with repressed anger and was left wondering about why her parents didn't seem to care about her.

When she had started at Cackles last year she had hoped to make a great impression on her future teachers, and she had impressed Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom with her flying skills. She had hoped to wow her new school by doing far better on her entrance exam than Esmerelda, who was called the greatest student the Academy had ever known by Miss Cackle, something that annoyed Ethel no end even now.

Unfortunately the entrance exam didn't go her way since Mildred Hubble had cheated, but now Ethel was no longer bothered by it even after spending the last year never letting the other girl forget it. But ever since Sybil's entrance exam where the younger girl scored a slightly less than stellar score than Ethel herself, the 12 year old young witch was horrified when her parents had celebrated like there was no tomorrow. When Ethel had taken her results back to them, expecting a celebration, she was disappointed when both of her parents had acted indifferently.

Esmerelda had tried to make up for it, but it wasn't enough for Ethel and she'd rejected her elder sister's attempts to make her feel better.

The last year Ethel had tried everything she could think of to make her parents at least smile at her, but they hadn't. She had tried drawing attention to herself by creating a fake wart since warts were a great sign of a witch's power; it had seemed like a great idea at the time, but if she had known that everyone in the school would be so unutterably stupid to think she could do everything and expect her to get them out of that mess when Mildred's hair had swamped them all simply because she had a wart on her face then she would never have cast it.

Miss Cackle hadn't been impressed then, but then she and Miss Hardbroom had not liked the feud between Ethel and Mildred.

Mildred….

Ethel closed her eyes. Even now she had no idea what to make of the messy dark haired girl who seemed to lurch from one crisis to the next. When she'd first met her, Ethel had not liked her, but as the year had gone by Ethel had lost that dislike despite popular opinion. If she was brutally honest with herself, she could say she was jealous of Mildred, but why would she be jealous of a girl from a non-witch family who didn't have as much money as the Hallows? And who struggled with magic and flying?

It was because… Ethel knew she didn't have that many friends - Drusilla didn't count, the bigger girl was a lackey, plain and simple. She didn't have that much imagination whatsoever, in fact she didn't seem to have a personality at all. But Mildred had Maud and Enid, and she had quickly become friends with some of the first year girls, even those with magical families who had been teaching their children magic ever since they'd learnt how to walk. No, it was the girl's charm and friendliness that had appealed to them.

And then there was that story about how Miss Pentangle had offered Mildred a scholarship at Pentangles Academy. Ethel had no idea what had possessed Pippa Pentangle to offer something like that to the worst witch (no, that was unfair - Mildred had her faults, but she wasn't stupid), and besides Ethel had gotten hold of Pentangles' prospectus and she'd seen the various subjects on offer at the school. Enchanting, potions theory, technomagic, ancient runes, Celtic magic, Native American Indian shapeshifting, all those subjects weren't taught at Cackles, and many of them had been compelling, but she knew she would never see the inside of a classroom in Pentangles.

Despite obeying the Witches' code, Ethel had dozens of issues with it, and the rules of inheritance were one of them, but if she had had her way then she would have gone to Pentangles, and it wasn't exclusively for the boys (even now thinking of Zac Hawthorn, the cute boy from Pentangles who'd participated in the Spelling Bee last year, made her sigh), but it would have given her a chance to learn about different forms of magic without having to cram it all in at college or university. She would have started much earlier if she had gotten the opportunity to go to Pentangles, but unfortunately because of the laws of educational tradition in the code, she and her sisters would need to attend Cackles. Ethel had envied Mildred for getting the offer though she had no idea why Miss Pentangle would offer it in the first place.

Ethel shook her head, deciding to stop daydreaming of what could have been and just focused on what was happening now. Ever since she had tried to mirror call her mother and father after Esmerelda and Sybil, they had decided they had to go. Just like that, and Esme had only been speaking to them both for only 6 minutes. Honestly, she had thought last year was bad, but this year was worse since her parents seemed to have plenty of time for Esmerelda and Sybil, but they couldn't spare more than a second for her.

And then her mind jealously went towards the other girls - Enid Nightshade had glamorously rich parents, Felicity Foxglove had parents who loved her, and Maud Spellbody had parents who encouraged her regardless of the calamities she got into because of Mildred and Enid.

Ethel grimaced as she thought about Mildred and her mother - she had only seen the woman once during the parents evening last year but seeing the way Julie Hubble doted and adored her daughter made Ethel jealous of Mildred for another reason.

Oh well, she would find a way to make her parents proud of her. As she read the book open in front of her Ethel had no idea why everyone considered Magical Transportation so difficult. It was so easy when you got the hang of it, and she couldn't see any reason why she couldn't do it, not even Esmerelda had reached the level needed for her to perform it safely. Logically and deep down in her head where her common sense lived in, Ethel knew that what she was thinking was dangerous. It not only took quite a bit of magical energy to move from place to place, but you needed to be experienced enough to travel long distances. Ethel had no idea how to do that. No author of a book based on this subject would be so stupid to write a detail like that down, and Ethel had heard stories about the dangers of magical transportation, over the years but she was sure that she should be able to handle it.

She was Ethel Hallow, A star student of the second year at Cackles Academy, she should be able to handle it. But even Ethel with all of her arrogance knew that simple certainty could only take her so far, so she spent the next hour ignoring the quiet chattering of other girls in the library and devoted all of her concentration to reading the book, her eyes skimming over the basic principles of magical transportation to make sure she had it right. If she was going to perform a piece of magic that wasn't taught at her current level, then she needed to be prepared and she needed to have the full facts to make sure it worked right.

* * *

Esmerelda Hallow was worried deeply for her sister. Ethel had been spending a lot of time in the library recently, but what worried the elder Hallow sister was the fact Ethel was withdrawing herself again, and Esme had no idea what her sister was reading because she seemed to be moving from one section of the library to another as she tried to make herself better.

The summer after the previous year had been, in a word, fun except for the way the sisters' parents treated Ethel, which was they ignored the younger girl's very presence. Esmerelda simply didn't understand, what was it Ethel had done to make both their mother and father ignore and neglect her? Contrary to what Ethel believed Esmerelda did notice their parents attitude, she wouldn't have tried so hard to downplay her own accomplishments even though she wanted nothing more than to grab her parents' heads and smash them together until they rocked like bowling balls so they could both see reality.

Ethel had been besides herself when school had ended after that mess with Agatha Cackle, apologising constantly for her own part in the successful (near successful, Esme added in her mind) part - finding the birth scroll, conning Esme into handing over her powers to Agatha, getting Esme turned into a trophy. But it wasn't all Ethel's fault, Esme was also to blame. Many people believed she was a girl who was flawless, but Esmerelda knew she had flaws like everybody else. Esme hadn't held what Ethel had done against her, she was just glad that her younger sister had seen what kind of people Miss Gullet and Agatha were really like - that head girl sash Ethel had worn was not like the one Esme wore, hers was an award for hard work whereas Ethel's had been awarded like a dog. It had taken Ethel time to realise what it really meant, but by then she had already seen enough to make her worried.

Esme had hoped that her sister wouldn't return to the depressed mindset that had plagued her for the whole of last year. Ethel had driven herself mad trying to be as good as her, and while Esme hoped that both Ethel and now Sybil, who was a first year at Cackles did well, she didn't want them to burn themselves out. What really concerned the elder sister was what her sister might be studying in the library. There were dozens of books which were extremely dangerous for a girl like Ethel to touch at her current level. Esmerelda knew her sister was smart, daring, but she genuinely hoped Ethel didn't do something unimaginably stupid. The consequences would be severe if she touched them, and Esme wasn't just thinking about the Witches code, but she was also thinking of her sister's personal safety as well.

Walking towards the Great Hall where dinner was being served, Esmerelda hoped that she could catch Ethel and speak to her, though what she'd say to the girl was anybody's guess. As soon as she entered the hall, Esme caught sight of some of the second year girls. Mildred, Maud and Enid were talking quietly to themselves while eating their meals, whereas Sybil and some of the first year girls were talking loudly to each other. Esme smirked when she caught sight of Mildred smiling gently at the youngest Hallow girl in the school - last year Ethel couldn't go a day without talking about the 'worst witch' in such a derogatory way, now Ethel's view of Mildred was still the same but she had no real idea of how to define the girl.

Esmerelda shrugged to herself. In a way it was a good thing for the girls to have a rivalry, even though one or both of them did something for it to be taken to the extreme, but it wasn't always Mildred's fault and Ethel was unfair with how she bullied Mildred. But the rivalry also made the girls improve themselves and their magical repertoire.

Esmerelda had just collected her food and had sat down with her friends and exchanged some of the usual gossip when a loud voice shouted.

"I've done it!"

Ethel Hallow was standing in the great hall, and then she flicked her hand and disappeared. Esmerelda's jaw dropped, and out of the corner of her eye she noticed that her friends themselves were just as surprised. The younger girls chattered excitedly, but the upper year girls weren't as enthusiastic even when Ethel returned safely in the hall again. None of the girls noticed Miss Bat, the teacher on dinner duty tonight, also disappear from the hall.

The blond girl didn't notice the looks on the upper year girls' faces as she reappeared once again. "I did it!" she cheered. "I did it, I can do magical transportation!"

That was enough for Esmerelda and she stood up quickly. "Ethel," she said cautiously, "when did you learn the transportation spell?"

Ethel looked at her with a bright smile. She was drunk on her new skill and she didn't seem to know the danger which annoyed her elder sister. "Just now," she said cheerfully. "Aren't you proud of me?"

"Yeah, I am," Esmerelda smiled in a manner she hoped was not encouraging, the last thing she wanted was her sister to transfer herself again and end up materialising in a wall. "Listen, Ethie, I'm proud of you, yeah, but maybe it's a good idea to give yourself time to adjust after using the spell."

"Why should I?"

Esmerelda's attempts at tact and diplomacy were leaking faster than water through a sieve, and the older girl knew it. "Ethel, magical transportation can be dangerous," she decided to get down to facts and try to make her careless sister see sense. "You know that. You are not ready for this, not until you're much older."

The cheery attitude Ethel had been basking in disappeared entirely. "But I can do it," she protested, "you're jealous, aren't you? You're just jealous I've mastered something you haven't, that's why you're behaving like this."

Esmerelda wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and try to get a grip on her sanity, but she knew if she did that then Ethel might disappear again. "No, I am not jealous of you Ethel," she ground out, hoping she didn't sound as exasperated and as annoyed as she was beginning to feel, "I'm just worried that something might happen to you."

"Nothing will happen to me Esme," Ethel folded her arms and huffed, "I've got it sorted. I can handle it."

"No, you can't!" Esme suddenly lost her patience and snapped. "Magical Transportation is dangerous; why do you think those rules about when people are supposed to even learn the basics when they're older than 13? There are so many ways it can kill you, is it really that worth it?"

"I can handle it!" Ethel repeated herself.

"Ethel, do you remember all those lessons you took when you were younger, how magical transportation has been known to be the cause of dozens of accidents? Stop jumping before its too late," Esmerelda snapped, losing her patience and not even bothering to be diplomatic anymore - what was the point when her idiot sister played this stupid game?

"Nothing is going to happen to me," Ethel argued back firmly. "I've got it under control, that book I found in the library gave out clear instructions-"

"You shouldn't have looked at those books, Ethel. Those books are for the eyes of students who have been at the school for a lot longer than a year, besides you should know the story of Mary Wolfsbane, how she transported herself and ended up not only missing her destination but scattered her body parts over half a mile. That's why witches of a certain age are meant to read those books. You're good Ethel, but you've got a lot more to learn about magic before you can use magical transportation correctly, that's why officials and teachers monitor transportation class to make sure you do it properly."

Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom arrived, and Ethel took a hasty step back when she saw the expressions on their faces. Miss Hardbroom's face was more angry than Ethel had ever seen it, and Miss Cackle's expression didn't look any better.

"Ethel Hallow, stop using the transportation spell before you injure yourself!" Hardbroom ordered.

Miss Cackle had her hands raised as she cast a spell to stop Ethel from transporting again, but since she had no idea how many times the foolish and reckless girl who should have known better than transported, she didn't know if the spell would work at all. "Listen to your sister dear, the transportation spell could prove to be dangerously unstable even if you think you've mastered it."

Ethel's frustration returned full force with the force of a hurricane. "What do I have to do to make you listen to me? I've mastered the transportation spell, I can handle it-"

"No, you can't!" Miss Hardbroom interrupted fiercely. What happened next should have been considered inevitable, but it was purely an accident and one the teachers were trying to prevent, but with the current instability of Ethel's magic she transported out of the hall.

* * *

Where has Ethel gone? Stay tuned for more.


	2. Chapter 2 Familiar Faces

I hope you lucky people are happy with what I've written so far about this story. Please tell me what you think and feel free to drop suggestions.

Familiar faces.

Ethel Hallow had no idea what had happened, but all she knew was one second she was in Cackles Academy in the Great Hall while all the other girls were eating dinner, and the next was she was materialising in the air and rushing down so fast as gravity exerted its fateful pull on her body, and her eyes widened when she saw what looked like green and brown rushing towards her so fast when she realised she was the one rushing towards it. Ethel screamed in pain as she crashed through the higher branches of the tree and she covered her face out of reflex to protect her eyes from the branches that now seemed to be as sharp as needles. The young witch then fell down the branches hitting the top of her head, and she felt something break in her leg, making her scream in pain before she felt something cut her cheek, but she landed hard on a thick branch and heard a crack in her arm. Ethel moaned in pain as she hit her face as well, and she touched her head with her spare hand, wincing with the pain.

Ethel opened her eyes and looked around, leaning over the branch to take a look around. She was in a woodland area alright with trees around her, but she couldn't tell how far away from the castle she was. Ethel braced herself and peered downwards. Looking past the branches she could see grass below. Ethel sighed as she looked around herself and then back down, trying to see how far down the ground was from where she was perched in the tree. It didn't look too far down, but the problem was actually getting down to the ground with what felt like a broken arm and a broken leg. Even if she moved as carefully as she could, she could still fall and break her only working limbs which was the last thing she wanted.

Ethel had just decided to use a spell to get her down and was working through her repertoire when she realised too late she was leaning too far over the branch. She fell screaming as she lost her grip, knocking her already injured arm and hurting it even more. The tree branches scraped the skin of her face, but looking downwards, she saw a man walking right underneath her. Ethel screamed to get his attention and hoped he had enough sense to not just walk away and leave her to hit the ground.

The man jumped at the sound of her scream and he looked up in shock. He probably would have tried to grab hold of her to prevent any more injuries, but his sudden appearance had taken her by surprise so she crashed right on top of him, and she banged her forehead against his.

* * *

Julie Hubble was taken by surprise when she saw the girl wearing the familiar Cackles Academy uniform being brought in with her blond hair so messed up with bits of tree and leaf buried it its length. How she got them she had no idea, but she intended to find out. It didn't take long for her to let the doctors know that her own daughter went to the same school, so she would be letting them know soon about their probable missing student. Julie had also asked to be the girl's nurse, hopeful that when she found out that she knew about Cackles she would trust her.

Ever since the new term had started Julie had been lonely in the flat, but she supposed she should be used to it by now since her daughter had entered the world of magic so she had almost buried herself in her work. There wasn't anything really back at the flat to look forwards to, just silence with only Mildred's paintings and drawings to keep her company. The mirror calls were a luxury that didn't really give her time to speak to Mildred.

Julie looked at the girl sadly and sympathetically, she knew from the X-rays the doctors had taken that the girl had a broken arm and a broken leg, some cuts and scrapes all over her face. Julie knew that the mystery currently on everybody's mind was how the girl had ended up in that tree in the first place since she couldn't have climbed up. Then there was the school uniform she was wearing - while it wasn't too dissimilar to the types of uniform other schools made their students wear, there were differences like the badge and the sash around her waist. Julie had no doubt in her mind that the girl had used magic to get into that tree, though she couldn't understand how that had happened, from what she'd gathered from the Cackles Academy prospectus the uniform sashes were of different colour to distinguish how well the student performed in the entrance exam.

Purple denoted a student who had extremely high magical knowledge, red was the opposite. While Julie was a little miffed about how her daughter was being judged, it wasn't a surprise to her. Julie knew how Mildred had been treated at first at Cackles, and while she was upset about it neither Julie nor Mildred was surprised when they looked at it from the point of view of the witches who worked and studied there. They had both known it would be harder to adjust to life at school.

As she looked down at the girl on the bed, wondering when she was going to wake up. She also wondered how on Earth a girl who was supposed to be bright (if she was judging the sash right) had somehow ended up in a tree and had fallen. Julie guessed that even witches of this calibre made mistakes.

Julie had already told the doctors that her own daughter went to the same school as the girl lying on the bed, but she wanted to get the girl's name and family contact details from the girl herself, but what she wanted to know was if the girl was okay. Julie….vaguely recognised the girl from the parents' evening meeting from a year ago, but she had seen several witches at the place, though she had paid more attention to Maud and Enid as well as Mildred, so she didn't know the girl's name….Hold on, it looked like she was coming round.

Seeing that the girl was about to try moving her arm and leg that was broken, Julie instantly said gently, "No, don't move your arms and legs. They're broken."

Ethel nodded, remembering that little detail only too well. She wanted to sit up, but she didn't want to push her luck. "Where am I?" she asked.

"In hospital. You were lucky that man had a car nearby, he quickly brought you to hospital when he saw your broken arm," Julie replied.

Ethel wasn't really happy someone had taken her into a car, but she was thankful it was a kind hearted samaritan and not someone who took advantage of injured school girls. She looked at the nurse nearby properly for the first time, and realised she knew her.

"I know you, you're Mildred's mother," Ethel said when it came to her.

Julie smiled at her. "That's right, and you are?"

Ethel bit her lip and hesitated for a second. She had no idea what Mildred had told her mother about her, but she imagined that Julie Hubble had heard enough already. She decided to tell her the truth - it was likely that sooner or later she'd find it out anyway, and while everything in her body was desperate to tell a white lie so this woman wouldn't become horrible for the way she had treated Mildred, she decided to just get on with it.

"Ethel. Ethel Hallow. But what are you doing here?" She asked before noticing the uniform Julie was wearing, and her heart sank with the knowledge that Mildred Hubble's mother was a nurse and she was taking care of her.

It took only a second for Julie to realise who the girl was. "Oh, so you're Ethel Hallow," she said mildly, but the girl lying on the bed had no idea whether she was angry or reaching the point where her temper was simmering beneath that calm facade. "You're the girl who made such a big deal about my daughter, and almost made her life a misery at school when all she needed was a bit more tolerance and kindness."

Ethel wanted to rant, she wanted to shout at this woman for her presumption, but she realised quickly that Julie wasn't being angry. Yet. She was simply stating facts. "She cheated on her entrance exam, using mine-"

"I know, but she also admitted it," Julie said before waving a hand, "does it really matter now? You're not in school, Ethel, and in a few years time you might end up working with people who will cause you problems. If you're never letting my daughter hear the end of it with the entrance exam, I dread to see what could happen later. From what Mildred's told me about you, you're probably going to go places, and you're going to be competing with people who will probably put you down quickly unless you change your attitude. You can't be a kid all your life, Ethel."

Julie paused for a few minutes while she waited for Ethel to take in what she'd just said. Whether or not it would sink was up to Ethel, not her. "Anyway, I'd better call Cackles, let them know you're okay. Do you want me to call your parents as well?"

Still reeling from the talk down she'd just received it took Ethel a second to realise what Julie had just said. "You can call Cackles?" she asked stupidly before she kicked herself - mentally. Ethel had seen the mobile phone Mildred had briefly had before Miss Hardbroom confiscated it for the entirety of the first year, so it was logical for her mum to one as well. Contrary to the Harry Potter novels where the magical world was hidden from the non-magical people (it was still under debate about what to call non-magical, though muggles and no-maj's were close contenders), Ethel and other witches and wizards lived alongside them though they would never know they were magical, so she had grown up around cars, televisions and so on. Granted technology wasn't as wonderful as magic, but it was catching up.

Julie chuckled. "'Course I can, luv," she said airily. "I can also call your parents too, let them know you're okay. But first I need to know what to tell them, like how you ended up in that tree?" she asked seriously.

Ethel sighed. "I used a transportation spell, but I panicked when Miss Hardbroom told me to stop after I'd used it successfully a few times after using it, and my sister Esmerelda told me only girls who are in the higher years are meant to perform it. When I was startled, it triggered the spell and I ended up in that tree, and the rest is history."

"I don't blame you for panicking because of HB scaring you," Julie commented, making Ethel snicker at the nickname said so casually. "But what made you decide to use the transportation spell? I don't pretend to know everything about magic, in fact I know little of it, but I do know that you need to take your time with some spells."

When said like that Ethel realised just how stupid she had been when she'd cast the transportation spell, but her pride screamed out to her, telling her to tell this ignorant woman who had bred an equally ignorant daughter she didn't understand everything. But she didn't do it - Ethel's feelings towards Mildred were mixed, she knew there was some strange connection between them, and while she was annoyed by Julie's ignorance she had to admit it wasn't the older woman's fault. Besides, she was absolutely right about what she'd said about spells. Ethel would have kicked herself had her body been capable of it for being so incredibly stupid for learning the transportation spell and using it so recklessly.

Ethel decided to say something that, under normal circumstances, she wouldn't even admit to her teachers. But perhaps if she spoke to Mildred's mother then things might be different, and besides weren't nurses and doctors sworn to uphold confidentiality? The fact Julie knew about magic was another plus. "Do you promise not to tell anyone if I tell you?" she whispered, feeling vulnerable all of a sudden.

Julie was surprised this girl was willing to even tell her something so obviously important to her, especially after Mildred had described Ethel as prideful and stubborn. "Of course," she replied, wondering what Ethel was going to say.

It took a moment for the clearly satisfied girl to think about the words she was going to use, but when she spoke Julie realised she probably wasn't going to bother with the parents. "I don't know if Mildred's told you this, but I've got two sisters - an older one and a younger one, making me the middle child. According to the Witches' code my elder sister Esmerelda will inherit everything my family has, so my parents have invested a great deal of their time and effort in making sure she's prepared. My parents are obsessed with Esme and Sybil, but they don't notice me."

Julie frowned, not liking where this was going already. "Why not?" she asked curiously, but she didn't do anything to hide her concern and she hoped Ethel caught on.

Ethel sighed and shook her head. "I don't know," she admitted, "they were okay with me once, when I was four, I think; it's been so long since they treated me like a member of the family, but I do try to get noticed, to make them proud of me. Last year I was looking forwards the parents evening, only to learn my mother couldn't be bothered to make the trip. She used a magical hologram to give the appearance she was there."

The young witch shook her head bitterly, still annoyed by how….. cold her mother had been.

Julie closed her eyes in disgust for Ethel's mother's attitude, but she tried to hide her feelings for the girl's sake. She hesitated as she wondered what she was going to do. There was no chance she was going to speak to Mr and Mrs Hallow and tell them about Ethel's condition, especially if they were the uncaring monsters that Ethel was painting them as. She would ordinarily have thought Ethel was exaggerating, but she didn't; Mildred had told her of her suspicions that the Hallow parents didn't seem bothered about Ethel, and the girl had always seemed to be angry and bitter after every mirroring session, that Ethel never seemed to speak to them longer than 30 seconds because they always left quickly.

"So you tried to use a spell that was for more advanced students so your parents would be proud of you?" she finished, having a good idea now why Ethel had done something so reckless.

Ethel nodded, feeling more stupid as she looked at her broken arm and leg, which were held immobile in casts. "Yeah," she whispered. "I was thinking of using a transportation spell after I woke up, but I didn't think it was a good risk."

"I'm glad you think so, you were lucky you received only a broken arm and a broken leg. It could've been worse, Ethel, a lot worse," Julie said without trying to sound nasty even as she made her decision to not bother asking the girl for her parents contact details.

Miss Cackle could have the joy of speaking to them, Julie decided, and she opened her eyes and did something that Ethel was probably not familiar with.

She gently wrapped her arms around Ethel's shoulder, gently pulling the girl into her embrace. Ethel was surprised by the move, but she didn't struggle because Julie was acting motherly and she genuinely cared was too much for her. She found herself sniffling and she began to cry.

"Oh luv," Julie whispered, hating to see Ethel cry like this and she pulled the girl deeper into her embrace. Ethel leaned in and sobbed her heart out, letting all the pain she had felt ever since she was four years old when her parents stopped treating her like their child and more of a stranger to merely feed and clothe and speak to while just ignoring her out like a waterfall that had been blocked up.

"Don't cry," Julie's soft whisper did nothing to make Ethel stop since this woman was giving her more love in one moment than she had felt in a long time. It didn't matter to her if Julie was Mildred's mother, and in that moment Ethel wished that she and her sisters had been raised by this woman alongside Mildred - no witches code, no stress, no resignation that she and Sybil would never inherit anything but scraps from their parents. Ethel had always been jealous of those girls in the school who had parents that loved them unconditionally, and it was one of the reasons she found herself jealous of Mildred Hubble.

Ethel wasn't stupid, she knew how much Julie and Mildred loved each other, and it made her even more bitter, but being held by Julie Hubble now made Ethel feel ashamed for being jealous.

* * *

Julie looked down at her mobile as she stood outside the doors of the hospital for a second before she scrolled through the contacts and found Cackles number. When the phone began dialling she hoped that either Miss Cackle or Miss Hardbroom was in the office.

"Cackles Academy, this is Miss Cackle speaking, how may I help you?" She sounded out of breath, so Julie deduced she'd ran towards the phone. No matter.

"Miss Cackle, its Julie Hubble here. I'm ringing to tell you that Ethel Hallow was admitted to the hospital I work in," Julie said.

"Miss Hubble, thank you this is great news. How is she, why was she admitted into hospital?"

"Ethel told me she had used a transportation spell, but she panicked when Miss Hardbroom tried to make her stop, so she ended up in a tree really high up. She fell through the branches and broke an arm and a leg in the fall."

"Oh no, the poor dear," Miss Cackle whispered, "how did she manage to get down, did she use magic?"

A little annoyed that the older woman believed that Ethel had tried to use magic, Julie ground out a reply. "No. I have no idea what Ethel was planning to do to get herself out of the tree, but she fell out of it as someone was walking underneath. That was lucky, she could've suffered much worse injuries if that man hadn't walked underneath the tree. She cried out apparently and she landed on top of him. The man was kind enough to bring her to hospital."

In the headmistress's office at Cackles' academy, Ada Cackle was listening to the news with relief. While she hated knowing what type of injuries Ethel had suffered, she was glad that the girl was safe and sound. She hadn't realised Mildred's mother was a nurse.

"Have you spoken to her parents?" Ada asked.

"No, I haven't. I was hoping you could. I'm not sure what to say to them," Julie's voice became more hesitant, and Ada realised what Ethel must have told her. "I'll tell them, right now I'm just glad she's safe. I'd better tell Esmerelda and Sybil, see if they'd like to visit Ethel."

Julie nodded thoughtfully, she had the impression that Ethel was more accepting of her sisters than she was of her parents. It was actually a relief to know she wasn't alone.

"Okay, I'll tell her," Julie replied. "I think it might help."

* * *

Ada hurried to find the Hallow sisters to let them know about the good news, but along the way she wondered what she could do. She had known for a while now how much Ethel wished for her parents to notice her, or at least treat her like she existed. Ethel's turbulent attitude towards her elder and younger sisters reminded Ada in some ways of her relationship with Agatha; at the time Ada had been convinced that she was the eldest twin and would inherit the school when her mother retired from her post as Headmistress, and she could jointly run the school with her twin, but that hope had gone out of the window a long time ago.

Their relationship had never been the same after Ethel and Mildred had gone back into the past when she and Agatha were students at the academy themselves, and Agatha had been sent to Wormwood Academy, the worst witch's school imaginable, but they did try to look beyond the incident and jointly run the school only for that mess that followed to make Ada realise it was a disaster.

It wasn't until Ada herself had gone back in time with the Mists of Time to help rescue Mildred and Ethel and clear up any other potential messes along the way that she received the full story about why her mother had gone to such trouble to hide the birth order from her own children, and it turned out her mother was right about Agatha; her sister would never run the school according to the proper values, and there was plenty of proof to justify her mothers views.

Ever since Agatha's first attempted takeover and after seeing the way Ethel treated Esmerelda, Ada had kept her eye on the situation because while there were dozens of similarities there were a number of differences between her and Agatha, and Esmerelda and Ethel and their parents, and she didn't like it one little bit; it was bad enough that Ethel had taken to verbally attacking some of her year mates, Mildred Hubble was a prime example, whenever her parents either ignored her or forgot she even existed.

Ethel just wanted to be recognised as a student that was as clever or more clever than Esmerelda, and now looking back on the flawless way the girl had flown on her broomstick into the school for the Selection day entrance exam, Ada could now see Ethel was trying to be better than Esmerelda and outdo her, but there were other factors that worried her; Ethel's bullying was a definite worry for her, that frog incident sprang to mind, and then there was that time Ethel had worn that fake wart - wart power, Ada snorted to herself, there was no definitive proof any witch with a wart was either smarter or more powerful than any other witch - look at Miss Bat and Hecate, they were both powerful in their own right, and they didn't need a wart to been seen that way.

Along the way Ada met Miss Drill and Mr Rowan-Webb. "I've just spoken to Julie Hubble, she's a nurse at the hospital and Ethel was admitted there," she told them.

"Julie Hubble?" Miss Bat asked. "Mildred's mother?"

"Yes. I never knew she was a nurse, but I'm glad she is. It would've been awkward if another nurse called and asked too many questions," Ada shook her head. "Do either of you know where Esmerelda and Sybil are? I need to speak to them urgently."

"No, sorry, Ada."

After the two teachers promised to inform the Hallow girls if they saw them that she was looking for them, Ada hurried on with her own search when she bumped into Hecate.

"Julie Hubble just called the school," Ada said in greeting, "she's a nurse in the local hospital, and Ethel was admitted with a broken arm and a broken leg."

Hecate looked relieved the student had been found and she was overall safe - she might have broken limbs, but it was better than a broken neck - and she nodded. "I am pleased to hear that. How did she get broken limbs Ada?"

Ada sighed. "She materialised in a tree, quite high up, and she broke her arm and leg in the branches before she fell again and landed on top of someone, who luckily had a car, and was kind enough to take her to hospital. The rest is just blind luck that Ethel's in the care of someone who knows about witches."

"Has Miss Hubble told Ethel's parents?"

Ada hesitated. "Julie Hubble must have been told that the Hallows…..neglect Ethel," she said before she said hurriedly, "I think Ethel told her, Mildred may have said one or two things about Ethel, since it's likely that Mildred told her mother about some of the bullying, but not enough to really make Julie suspect it."

"So she's left contacting the Hallows to us?" Hecate asked. Ada didn't like her deputy's tone of voice, it was the same tone of derision she sometimes used when speaking of the woman's daughter. "She's not sure how she can speak to them if they neglect their daughter," Ada shook her head. "When I first saw how Ethel and Esmerelda interacted, and how she was keen on standing out with that wart just to be noticed, I wondered just how far the neglect went. This is the latest example of a young witch trying to get her parents attention by proving she could perform advanced magic. What worries me the most is what the Hallows might do."

When Hecate heard her say that, she had to concede the point. Many people believed that Hecate favoured Ethel Hallow over any of her students in her class, but that wasn't necessarily true. The girl was good, she had to admit, but it was a pity that Ethel had to join the ranks of those who were passed over by the inheritance law in the code. Another problem was Ethel wasn't entirely flawless; she failed to focus at times, caught up with her ridiculous feud with Mildred Hubble so she failed to do her work, and she was sometimes causing trouble herself.

Hecate herself had been the sister of an elder sibling, but while the inheritance law had been frustrating at first Hecate had realised early on there was nothing to be gained from wanting something that would never happen. Hecate had moved on, turning her back on her family, becoming stronger for it along the way and she had made her own way in life. It was something she suspected many others on the same broomstick had needed to do for decades and would probably do so a long time after she and Ethel passed on - move on from the inheritance, make their own path in life. It shouldn't be hard for Ethel; she was intelligent, she had the drive and the ambition to be brilliant, the only problem holding her back were her parents. Hecate had never had the same problem with her family that Ethel had, so she didn't know what she could do to help.

But Ada's concerns about the girl's parents were shared equally by Hecate. "Do you think they will become a problem?" Hecate asked.

"I don't know, but since Mrs Hallow used a projection spell and didn't bother turning up at parents evening last year anything's possible," Ada replied darkly.

Fortunately the teachers found Esmerelda and Sybil in the elder girl's bedroom, and both girls were worried sick for Ethel. The moment the teachers entered the room the girls knew at once they had good news.

"Miss Cackle, Miss Hardbroom, has Ethel been found? Is she okay?" Esmerelda said quickly in one breath.

"Relax Esmerelda," Ada said soothingly, "relax. Yes, your sister has been found. She's currently in a hospital with a broken arm and a broken leg," Esmerelda gasped, "the transference spell materialised her into a tree, and she fell on top of someone, who kindly took Ethel to hospital. Julie Hubble who works as a nurse at the hospital recognised Ethel, and she phoned the school."

"Julie Hubble, as in Mildred's mother? I didn't know she was a nurse," Esmerelda commented.

"Well, she is, and we should be thankful that Ethel's in good hands," Ada wasn't sure what else she could say to the two girls in the room without appearing like she was being nosy. Deciding to wait until she had the right words, she decided to change tack. "Miss Hubble also agrees with me when I suggested you two might help Ethel recover."

Esmerelda and Sybil only needed to spare a single glance at each other, but Ada knew what they'd decide to say.

* * *

Next chapter will see Esme, Sybil and Ethel meet, but Julie will chat with Ethel.


	3. Chapter 3 Dreams and Debates

I don't own the Worst Witch, but I am glad the new CBBC series is putting more thought to the characters than the ITV series.

Dreams and debates.

"Ethie, Ethie, come on wake up!"

Ethel woke up, grinning at her sister. "Hi, Mildred," she said happily to her twin.

Mildred grinned back at her sister. "Mum's thinking about taking us out for the day," she said.

Ethel leapt out of bed, hightailing it for the shower to get ready. Like all of the Hubble girls, she enjoyed the time she spent with her mother, it took the weight off the times she, Esme, Mildred, and Sybil got into trouble at Cackles.

When she washed her face, she took a good look at herself in the mirror. She was thankful she'd inherited her mother's hair colour, along with her elder sister, Esme, whereas her other sisters had inherited dark hair.

After she'd gotten dressed, she raced out and hugged Esme and her mother. Sybil was sitting next to Mildred, the light shining on their dark hair. Dark hair? Wasn't Sybil meant to be a blonde? Come to that weren't she and Esme also blonde? Ethel's brain paused as she tried to work through it, but she was sure she and Mildred were twin sisters, right? Julie grinned at her daughter, unaware of her daughter's confusion, and kissed her on her cheek. "How'd you sleep, luv?"

Ethel wrinkled her nose, unsure whether or not she should tell her mother about the weird dream she'd had the night before. "I slept okay, I guess, but mum, I had a weird dream. I wasn't your daughter, and I lived a very unhappy life with different, but more mean parents, but I was still with Esme and Sybs, but I wasn't Mildred's sister."

Julie looked sharply at her. "That sounds horrible, what made you dream that?"

Ethel shrugged. "I don't know mum, but I'm glad it was a dream."

Julie smiled kindly at her. "Try not to think about it, sweetheart," she replied. "Now sit and eat with your sisters."

"Yes, mum," Ethel said and sat next to Mildred, smiling over at the other girl. The day went by in a flash of images for the young Hubble girl, she and her sisters went with Julie to see a movie, have something to eat in a restaurant before heading home.

But Ethel couldn't stop thinking about the dream she had had - why would she dream about something like that, when she had an amazing family already? Yeah, Mildred might be a bit mad at times, Sybil could cry a lot, but Ethel loved her sisters, and Esmerelda was like their mother in so many ways. Why would she dream about being a middle child raised by two uncaring monsters?

Ethel frowned to herself as she sat between Mildred and Esmerelda in the living room, watching Sybil reading a book. But she shook her head, and grinned at her sister. Mildred and her were fraternal twins, and they drove Miss Hardbroom crazy. Ethel frowned to herself as she thought about the harsh potions mistress - the woman had always been harsh on her and her sisters for not being able to grasp different magical concepts, and she was dreading returning to Cackles to face the music.

"Worried about seeing HB again?" Esmerelda caught the look on her little sister's face.

Mildred looked up at the question and glanced at her twin. Ethel nodded. "I wish we knew what would please her," Ethel said in answer.

Esmerelda sighed. She herself had been considered the Worst Witch at Cackles ever since she'd gone to the school, but Mildred, Ethel, and now Sybil had those undesired titles. Esmerelda had more or less tried to settle in, though the stupid philosophy of 'witches help themselves' had held her back for a while, but she had worked it all out over time, and she had helped to teach her siblings magic to give them the breaks that she didn't, but she couldn't very well learn potions in this flat.

"I know the feeling," Esme commented, recalling her own lessons with the woman.

Mildred and Sybil had been listening to the conversation with interest. Now they were ready to make their own contributions. "I think Miss Hardbroom's softening towards us," Sybil commented. As the most sensitive of the Hubble girls, she could see things the other sisters, probably aside from Mildred, couldn't.

Esme smirked. "She does that," she said, "she quickly grows fond of everyone she teaches, but she doesn't know how to make it obvious."

Mildred nodded, "Yeah, I've gotten that impression as well."

Sybil smiled hopefully. "I hope this next term will be a change."

Her elder sisters exchanged a look, wondering if Sybil was expecting too much, but they hoped she was right.

"We'll see," Esme said, not holding out too much hope herself.

* * *

Unfortunately Sybil was a bit too optimistic, as the sister's found out to their sadness when they returned to Cackles Academy a week after that night. All of the girls reunited with their friends - the rest of the Hubble sisters might have been better received than Esme had been, but that didn't mean they were automatically popular and well liked because of their misdemeanours and the amount of trouble they got into - and they resumed their lessons.

It wasn't long before the sisters got into trouble.

"MILDRED AND ETHEL HUBBLE! CAN'T YOU TWO DO ANYTHING RIGHT?!" Hardbroom's voice exploded like a cannon through the ears of the twins, and they both flinched. The twins shared a look, exchanging looks with their friends, Maud and Enid, and they looked up innocently with just a dash of worry at Hardbroom. The woman's eyes were narrowed into a glare and Ethel's heart sank.

"We-we were just trying to-"

"- make the potion, Miss Hardbroom," Ethel finished, hoping she was hiding her nervousness better than her twin.

Never losing her glare, Hardbroom leaned in closer, and both twins shared another look; why was it they couldn't get a break?

Both twins stiffened, waiting for the condemnation they'd both receive in a few moments, but Miss Hardbroom didn't say anything for a second - Ethel hated it when Miss Hardbroom was like this; she would glare at them, looking like she was a second away from shaking like a volcano about to blow to Kingdom come, her face stretched tighter over the bones, white with fury, and then she would whisper in a deadly tone that put everyone in mind of a snake about to strike.

Ethel braced herself for the biting attack, but Miss Hardbroom surprised her, when she started speaking with Julie's sweet voice.

"Ethel? Ethel, luv, it's time to wake up," she said.

* * *

"Ethel, wake up," Julie said again, but this time the heavy blanket of sleep lifted off Ethel as she began to wake up and found Julie standing over her, the woman was dressed in a nurse's uniform - but then Ethel knew her mum was a nurse, a good one, but the girl was mystified by what was happening. Then she noticed that she was sleeping in pyjamas on a hospital bed. Had her mum brought her here because of an injury? Ethel couldn't remember it, and where were her sisters?

Ethel yawned tiredly as she tried to sit up, but there was a pain in her arm, and she was aching nearly all over her body.

"Careful, luv," Julie cautioned as she stepped over to gently but firmly pull Ethel into a sitting position. "You're still recovering from your accident.

Ethel's brain was still swamped by sleep, so she didn't know anything about her accident. "Thanks anyway, mum," she replied with a yawn, but she didn't see Julie's look of surprise until she took a good look at the woman's face.

"What's wrong?" Ethel asked before her memories returned.

She could remember all the times she had been ignored by everyone barring Esmerelda, but it was hard to feel any affection for her elder sister when her mother, her real mother, and father lauded every achievement Esme made, and it had driven her to study magic, and she remembered all the times her beloved grandmother urged her to calm down. It was her grandmother who taught her how to prepare potions, and taught her a few tricks even her mother and sister didn't even know about potions. Ethel had always loved her grandmother, and out of all of the Hallow family, she resembled her grandmother more than even Esme herself did, it was just there and easy to find if you looked deeper. Her grandmother had grinned at the question, and she had later shown her an old school photograph with her grandmother in it; the hair style was slightly different, but they had virtually identical features.

Other memories came to her mind, including the memory where she had stupidly used the transportation spell.

"It was a dream, wasn't it?" Ethel looked at Julie, completely downcast, trying her best to not cry. She couldn't help it - it was one of the best dreams she'd ever had, mostly because she had never imagined herself dreaming a dream where she and her sisters weren't Hallows, but in another family where the witches' code didn't even apply. Ethel thought back on the dream and realised how liberating it was to not worry about the types of things in a traditional witch's life.

Why couldn't it be reality?

Julie came over to her. "I think you were dreaming, luv," she said as she gently touched Ethel's shoulder, but she didn't know if she should ask Ethel what the dream was about even if the way she'd called her mum just then made it a little obvious Ethel, not if it was clearly upsetting her, but she was curious about it if the girl called her mum.

But Ethel seemed willing to speak about it. "I was dreaming about being your daughter," she said, deciding to be blunt; like a bandage, the sooner she got it out, the better. "I was Mildred's fraternal twin, but my sisters Esmerelda and Sybil were your daughters as well," Ethel saw the look of surprise on Julie's face, but she went on, figuring that it was overwhelming for the woman to hear she had three extra daughters than the one she lived with.

"We had fun during the holidays before returning to Cackle's Academy. Esmerelda was still the oldest, but she didn't have the weight of the inheritance law weighing down on her shoulders. She was a witch as well, and it looks like we were all the Worst witches of the school, and Hardbroom was breathing down on all of us."

Ethel shook her head. "Sitting next to Mildred, being friends with Maud and Enid, it made me see life from her perspective," she looked deeply into Julie's eyes, blinking back the tears, preparing herself to be totally honest about something she had hidden from everyone, "I've always envied Mildred, she has friends, I have only a groupie who doesn't have three brain cells to rub together, but she has you, you love her unconditionally. I have Esme and Sybil, and my grandma, but that's it. Why do my parents hate me?"

Julie wrapped her arms around Ethel protectively as if to shield her away from the harshness of her life. Accepting the embrace once more, Ethel started crying, and the two were in that position for a few minutes.

"Maybe you should give up on your parents, Ethel. I don't think they hate you, but this is not good for your health," Julie said, "you can't go on like this forever. I told you this before, you could very well have been killed by the transportation spell. Don't you dare think gaining your parents acceptance at the expense of your own life is worth it."

Ethel pulled back. "What do you think I should do?" she asked shakily. "I want my parents to at least know I'm there-"

"I know you do, but did it occur to you to do things on your own?" Julie asked, smiling at the girl affectionately. Ethel smiled and rested her head against Julie's chest, not wanting to leave. But her mind was on what she'd just said.

All her life she had tried to earn her parents notice and affection. In her early days at Cackles she had hurt her big sister because she had thought she was honestly better off without her, and because secretly she enjoyed Esme's company. Even more than Sybil's. But what Julie was saying to her made sense, what's more it also sounded like a little voice in the back of her mind which had been growing louder and louder as the years passed and every attempt she made to gain her parent's acceptance was shot down.

Not moving from where her head was, Ethel said clearly enough for Julie to hear her. "I should give up on them, shouldn't I?"

Knowing from Mildred's stories what Ethel could be like, Julie chose her words with great care. "They might change their tune with you in the future, but for the time being just focused on yourself, and from what I've gathered you're closest to your eldest sister, Esmerelda, right?"

Julie felt Ethel's nod against her chest. "Well then, try to stick close to her until you're old enough to live on your own. But I think you should start learning for your own. Think about it, you're very bright - I only needed a minute to realise that since you're so driven, but my own daughter told me that - so you've got so many opportunities waiting for you, and you're not going to get them by risking your life carelessly. Do something - open a new school for magic, travel the world and meet new people and learn magic from them, set up a business…any number of those things can one day make your parents wake up and see you, and not your sisters."

"You've said that before, Julie," Ethel observed, making sure to keep her snappy attitude at bay. This woman had been so kind to her and she didn't deserve being snapped or snarled at because she couldn't control the pain she'd been holding onto for years.

"And I meant it," Julie replied before she shifted herself, pulling herself and Ethel apart; she was not pleased to hear the moan of protest from the girl, but she was warmed by the girl's growing warmth towards her. "Listen, do you really want to spend the rest of your life pining for attention you might not even get?" Julie asked seriously.

Ethel gaped at her, not expecting that.

"Because that's what might happen, Ethel," Julie said before something occurred to her that might be the key to making the girl see sense. "Mildred's told me stories of what happened to Agatha Cackle; she doesn't know the full story, but that doesn't mean she hasn't gotten a good idea of what made Agatha become what she is today. I don't want you to become warped and bitter because you're either jealous of your sisters or angry that your parents didn't bother lavishing you with the love you deserve. I know it's not my business, but that's how I feel."

Although listening to the unsaid similarities to Agatha spooked her because she knew full well they were similar, Ethel smiled at her gently. "That doesn't matter to me," she said, "you've given me something I've only felt with one person before; Esme might be my sister, but she's been more of a mother than my own mother, but I never admitted it." Ethel looked down. "I still can't believe my mother, my own mother, couldn't be bothered to make the trip to the Parent's evening in first year Julie. I'd looked forwards to that evening so then I could show my mother what I'd been doing - not what I'd been doing towards Mildred, of course," she added quickly in case she gave Julie the wrong idea, "and she just… didn't care."

"Like I said, perhaps you should try to live life the way you want to live it and not don't do it for your parents," Julie said.

Ethel gave her a smile, grateful for the advice.

* * *

"Hello, my name is Ada Cackle, I'm here with Esmerelda and Sybil Hallow to visit Ethel Hallow who was admitted to this hospital only yesterday," Miss Cackle said to the woman on reception, and trying to keep her usual optimistic and cheerful manner up even if her surroundings brought her down.

Ada had never really visited with hospitals, but whenever she visited them she was reminded how cheerless and disturbingly clean the place happened to be. She glanced at the two girls with her. Esmerelda looked anxious while Sybil was licking her lips nervously as her fingers clutched the cards in her hand; it was nice that so many girls at the school had prepared a get well soon card even if they found Ethel's manner sometimes grating and nasty.

The receptionist looked over the two girls and the elderly witch. "Are you a relative of Ethel Hallow's?" the woman asked.

"No, I'm the girl's headmistress," Ada replied, "I'm hoping that Ethel's parents come to visit soon."

Ada tried to ignore the snort she heard from one of the girls. She didn't dare add that Julie Hubble had told her her concerns about the Hallows, the woman had done so much already and she didn't want to get Julie into trouble.

That seemed to satisfy the woman, but she urged the three witches to sit down and wait. Ada sat down and tried to get comfortable, wishing she could use a spell to make the chair more comfortable or something, but she couldn't because of how many people were in the waiting area. Ada tried hard to keep her eyes away from everyone, but she couldn't help but notice how many people were here - some of them had clear injuries, one had their neck in a brace for instance - and it made her shudder a little as she considered how long it could take before non-magical people were nearer the level of magical people's medicine. At least with magic a broken leg could be set and repaired in half the time, but unless Ada knew for sure what the Hallows wanted then Ethel would be required to stay in this place for a little while.

Ada tried not to think about the elder Hallows, and she glanced at both Sybil and Esmerelda. "Don't worry, you two," she tried to sound reassuring in this alien environment, "Ethel's in good hands."

Esmerelda tried to smile back, but it was clear the teenager wasn't in the mood. Fortunately, they didn't have long to wait as Julie Hubble approached. Ada tried to match this uniformed woman with the woman who wore some very strange clothes even by the standards of witches and usually wore her hair long instead of keeping it tied back, though she imagined that made sense working in this hospital, but she had to admit Julie looked professional.

"Hello, Miss Cackle," Julie greeted her as Ada stood up.

"Hello, Miss Hubble, how is Ethel?"

"She's awake, she's waiting for you," Julie replied, and Ada saw the other woman's eyes start to flicker towards the two girls with her. "You must be Esmerelda," Julie said, gazing at the tall blond girl with an easy smile.

Esmerelda nodded, smiling hesitantly.

Julie looked down at Sybil, "And you must be Sybil."

Sybil smiled back shyly, instantly put at ease by Julie's warm manner. Seeing her little sister at ease with the mother of one of her schoolmates made Esme smile and she felt sure that Ethel was in good hands. "Hi," she whispered.

"Come on, Ethel's waiting for you," Julie smiled at them and led them away towards the ward Ethel was staying in.

* * *

Next chapter - The Sisters reunited. In that chapter Esme will speak to Julie about what she said to Ethel.


	4. Chapter 4 The Hallow Sisters

I don't own the Worst Witch, but don't let that stop you reading my stories.

Feedback would be lovely.

The Hallow Sisters.

Esmerelda wasn't sure how her little sister was doing, so she was relieved to find Ethel already awake in hospital issue pyjamas, but it was the sight of the plasters covering her face and the purplish yellow bruises that hadn't been covered up and her immobile arm and leg which were obviously broken that threatened to shatter the girl's usually mild composure.

Ethel grinned at her them as she saw them.

"Hi, Syb's, hi, Esme," Ethel greeted them as they came into the small space that had been curtained off. When Ethel had been shuffled from one part of the hospital to the other, she had known she would've been lucky to get a private room, but she was thankful that she had been moved to a space that was already curtained off. She had no real desire to listen to other people's woes when she had dozens of her own, and besides with the laws of the need for magical secrecy in effect, Ethel had to be careful what she said or did. She knew she was in enough trouble as it was.

Ethel's heart ached as she saw Sybil's eyes focus on the plasters on her face, and her arm, and she sighed inwardly when she noticed her younger sister's eyes begin to well up with tears. "Don't worry," she tried to say soothingly; comforting others wasn't her strong point, but she didn't want Sybil to leave upset. "I'm getting better now," she added.

Sybil tried to offer a watery smile, but Ethel knew Sybil hadn't believed her in the least.

Esmerelda stepped towards the bed slowly as if restraining the urge to lunge towards Ethel and gather her up in a tight hug. "How are you doing?" she whispered, feeling the question was inadequate, but unable to think of anything better to say.

Ethel knew Esme well enough to know she was only just resisting the urge to scream. "I'm doing okay, thanks," she said, knowing she hadn't given a good enough reply. Yeah, she might not be able to walk okay and she might only have the use of a single arm, and her face was covered with cuts and a few bruises, but she was feeling mentally freer than she had for a long time.

Granted, she was still not a hundred percent sure how she was going to move on and follow Julie's advice, but she desperately wanted to speak to Esme about the conversations she'd had with the kind woman. Thinking about Julie and the kind way she'd taken care of her (Ethel knew she would have done that for anyone being a nurse, but she adored Julie anyway) had taught her quite a few lessons.

But Ethel was going to have to speak to her big sister and ask for advice. Granted, Esme could take it the wrong way and tell Julie off for poking her nose into business that wasn't her own, but Ethel doubted it would happen. Esme wasn't the type to lose her temper over something as trivial as that, but she wondered how Esme would react.

"It was horrible at first," she went on. "Falling out of that tree, that was scary. I've crashed from a broomstick, but I've never fallen out of a tree. I wouldn't want to wish that on anyone," she said, remembering Mildred Hubble's first broomstick lesson at Cackles.

Esmerelda nodded quietly, her expression clearly telling Ethel it was only because of the state she was in, the curtains which didn't provide much in the way of privacy and the fact they were in a hospital with other non-magical people that she wasn't shouting. A movement just behind Esme's shoulder made Ethel look up curiously, and she grinned when she saw the smiling face of Miss Cackle.

"Hello Miss Cackle," she greeted happily.

"Hello Ethel," the elderly headmistress replied, almost tempted to impart the usual witch greeting, but decided against it. "How are you feeling?" she asked, though it was clear she'd been listening outside, but didn't know how else to speak to her.

"Not bad, I can't wait to be out of here," Ethel said honestly, and it was true. She hated being in the hospital even if some of the people here had been nice to her and had actually cared for her, but she desperately wanted to be back at school with Nightstar to cuddle, but she knew she couldn't bring her beloved familiar into the hospital.

"I'll bet," Esme said.

Ethel didn't like the look in her sister's face, and so she changed the subject. "Are my parents here?" she asked hesitantly.

"No, they're not," Miss Cackle replied, her face and the tone of her voice not happy about that. "They….. Couldn't get away from work."

It was a poor excuse, but it went hand in hand with her parents.

Over Miss Cackle's shoulder, Ethel could see Julie's face harden angrily at that, and she couldn't blame her, though she had the impression Julie had been hoping it wasn't this bad. Ethel just sighed bitterly, but unlike in the past when her parents had either neglected her or, like last year, had only arrived because it was expected of them, but didn't care enough to make the trip, she didn't rank and rave. She recalled how jealous she had been after seeing her schoolmates with their parents, feeling like she was looking at them from the outside looking at them through a window, feeling envious of their closeness. Instead, she just nodded in disappointment.

She was surprised when she felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Sybil standing close by.

"I'm sure they'll come, Ethel," the younger girl said, her tone making it clear to everyone in the room that the girl either didn't know what her parents were like at the best of times, or she was genuinely sure of what she was saying.

Ethel didn't have the heart to do anything more than smile at the girl, even if she knew better. "Maybe you're right," she smiled gently at Sybil, who was surprised that Ethel seemed so kind hearted at the moment.

Esme was also surprised, and she wondered what had caused Ethel's change of heart. Usually whenever things didn't go her way, Ethel would shout about how unfair the world was, but this time she didn't. Perhaps being in hospital had done her sister some good after all. Although judging from the look on Julie Hubble's face, she had wondered whether the woman had said something to her. But even if she had then Esmerelda wasn't going to think anything less of someone whom she didn't even know properly.

"How are things at school?" Ethel asked, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen at the topic of her parents.

"Ah!" Miss Cackle clicked her fingers, "I've just remembered."

With that, she reached into her coat and pulled out a stack of envelopes and passed them to Ethel. Julie's heart warmed at the sight of the envelopes when she realised what they were while blond girl's forehead was crinkled in surprise.

"What are they?" she asked, using her one good arm to pick one of them up, and her eyes widened when she recognised the handwriting. It was Felicity's, and she shifted the cards again and found herself looking at an envelope written by Drusilla, while there were others she didn't recognise off the top of her head.

Tears began to well up in Ethel's eyes when she realised what the envelopes were. She couldn't believe it. She had spent the past year venting her frustration and jealousy out on some of the other girls, and yet they had written cards to her when she was in hospital.

"They are cards, Ethel," Miss Cackle broke through Ethel's surprise, completely unaware she had interrupted a moment where the girl was so surprised and taken aback by the kind but simple act of the other girls sending get well soon cards to her. But the others nearby had been watching Ethel's face the entire time, and it broke their hearts to watch the girl be bemused by the cards before she even worked out what they were.

After wincing slightly at Miss Cackle's cluelessness at how Ethel was feeling about the cards, Julie observed Esmerelda, and she wasn't truly surprised to see tears well up in the teenage girl's eyes either, though there was a hint of annoyance at Miss Cackle as well for her tactlessness.

But even she was unprepared for what Ethel said next.

Ethel nodded, "I know they are cards," she whispered, "I just never imagined anyone would send me any after being such a bitch last year."

"Ethie, don't-" Esmerelda whispered, but Ethel just shook her head. "I was so jealous of you," she said, "so upset whenever mother and father ignored me over you, I always vented my spleen on the other girls, including Mildred," she sent an apologetic look towards Julie, "to make me feel better. I let Agatha Cackle get back into the school, let you donate your powers to her," she said to Esmerelda, "and I got that head-girl sash, and I was oh so proud, though it didn't take long to realise it was just a sash, something to keep me loyal to Agatha. And I let Miss Gullet turn you into a trophy. I don't deserve these cards after I did all that, and I still didn't learn my lesson."

Ada closed her eyes as she remembered Ethel's face when Agatha had turned her ire towards her, and trapped her inside that picture, but she hadn't done much to punish the girl because she had been aware the entire time. She had seen how Ethel had tried to redeem herself, and truthfully what kind of punishment would be suitable after rescuing her sister. Seeing Ethel in Esmerelda's arms after the school had been restored after Agatha had shamelessly tried to destroy it after wanting the academy for years had been one of the principle reasons Ada had more or less left Ethel alone, and it made her realise the two sisters were closer than she and Agatha had ever been.

"I should have listened to you when I tried mastering the transportation spell," Ethel said, "but I got startled and ended up in a tree."

"Yeah, you should have," Esmerelda said before she hugged her sister tightly while keeping as far away from the injured parts of Ethel's body. "But I'm glad you're safe."

"Esme, do you think I'm wasting my time trying to get mother and father to notice me?"

Julie stiffened as she worked out where Ethel was going with this, and she truly hoped the younger blond didn't tell Esmerelda about their little chats. The last thing Julie wanted was a complaint on her doorstep, telling her to mind her own business when she was only trying to take care of the girl.

But Esmerelda pulled back slightly and stared her sister deeply in the face, the distance between them now measured by millimeters. "Why are you asking me that question when I've been trying to tell you for a long time to be your own person?" she asked before she thought for a moment about Ethel and her inability to become her own person for a change while she had tried to emulate her.

When Ethel was growing up and their parents had taken to ignoring the girl, leaving the lessons that should have been passed down from mother to daughter as was traditional in a witch family, Esmerelda and their grandmother had taken the reins and had taught Ethel everything they knew about magic - spells, potions, broomstick flying and other lessons, but while Ethel had excelled at her lessons, she had desperately wanted her parents' approval.

THAT was the reason why Ethel was so driven to succeed, why she had tried to work with complex spells that was way ahead of her abilities as a witch. If it hadn't been for their grandmother, Esmerelda had no idea what could have happened at the time, though she did have a good idea now - she herself hadn't gone to Cackle's yet.

Ethel had this fixation that she should be just as good as her elder sister. Ethel was three years younger than her big sister, and when she'd learnt that their mother was pregnant with Sybil, Ethel had been jealous at first, but then she'd gotten the idea into her head that once the baby was born, her parents would ignore it and pay more attention to her, but she'd been wrong.

Ironically Sybil had made things worse and even more bizarre for Ethel's still developing sense of logic. It didn't make any sense to Ethel why their parents would fawn over Sybil and Esmerelda and leave her with scraps or just blatantly ignore her when she was working long and hard to become a witch.

Esmerelda had spent years trying to get her sister to be her own person, and that was only after discovering how Ethel tried, unsuccessfully, to emulate her from her clothing style to her hair style, but truthfully Ethel stopped bothering too hard when she discovered it just didn't work. A good example of Ethel's quest to gain attention towards herself was when she had created a fake wart and had paraded around the school with everyone proclaiming she had "wart power." Esmerelda had been bemused at the time, but she had been inwardly annoyed and more than a little disappointed by how Ethel had lied and faked having a wart. Did she truly think it would be acceptable? Cackles wasn't home. Like every witch growing up, she had learnt about the great witches who had warts, but she had asked her grandmother and great aunt about it when she'd learnt about them as a child. Esmerelda blushed as she remembered her question to them.

"When I get a wart, will I be a great witch?" she'd asked them in a childish voice. Her grandmother and great aunt had looked at each other in amusement and then they had laughed.

Grandma Jo had said, "Where did you hear that the great witches, and only the great witches, had warts? That's nonsense. Warts don't automatically make you brilliant. It's been proven over the years, and did you know when I left Cackles I met a girl who had four warts and she had problems casting her spells correctly. Warts don't do anything to make you powerful or smart, Esmerelda. There's no such thing as wart power."

Esmerelda had been disappointed after that because she had been convinced like so many other young witches that "wart power" existed, but as she had grown older, she had encountered only one girl at Cackles with a wart on the end of her nose. She had met the girl, Hestia Toadstool during her first year at Cackles though for the girl it was her last, and when she dressed in the traditional garb of a witch graduating from Cackles - black cloak with an ordinary black pointed hat, and had a wart on the edge of her nose, how could she not be a great witch?

But she wasn't.

When Esmerelda had first met her, Hestia had been arrogant, believing that because of the wart she could be a witch as great as Morgana herself, but she wasn't. She was a good student, but she was a long way from great though at the time Esme didn't really know the difference between good and truly brilliant. Esmerelda had only just received her head girl sash, something that few students had received during Cackle's history, and it had made Hestia jealous with her because she had considered herself better than everyone in the school despite having a yellow sash around her waist.

The sash system at Cackles represented houses, but truthfully the houses were also just a reflection on the performance of the student during the entrance examination. Esmerelda's sash was different to Maud's, who was head girl of her year, because she had performed better than most students had in their exams.

Hestia had not liked that, and she had spent a good portion of her time trying to make life intolerable for the young Esmerelda before she had decided to use magic. Although Esmerelda had been taken by surprise by the attack, she had defended herself and she had seen first hand just how truly pathetic Hestia was when it came to fighting with magic. So much for witch power.

When she'd learnt her own sister had spelled a fake wart on her chin, Esmerelda had been disappointed with her because of the lie, not because of the wart because by that point she'd worked out that warts didn't make a witch powerful or smart, it made no difference. But what frustrated Esmerelda the most about her little sister was the fact she couldn't get it into her head that instead of looking towards her future and moving on, she was trying to make her parents proud when they hadn't shown much interest in her before. Esmerelda truly had no idea what had made her parents decide to ignore her sister. She had tried hard over the last couple of years to find out, especially before Ethel had gone to Cackles and then after the disaster last year, but she hadn't found anything out, nothing that made sense anyway.

Not even her grandmother knew. Josephine had been trying for years to find out what had made her own daughter ignore and virtually reject Ethel, but she hadn't had much luck, or if she had she wasn't saying a word.

Ethel's voice broke through her thoughts. "I don't know," she replied, and it took a moment for Esmerelda to remember what she'd asked Ethel in the first place. "I just wanted them to notice me, but we've gotten talking," she gestured towards herself and to Julie, who looked like she was an inch away from running out of the cubicle, "and I've started to think I should concentrate on my own life, and if mother and father want to know me in the future they'll have to make up for what they did or didn't do."

Esmerelda turned to Julie. "Thank you," she said gratefully and genuinely towards the older woman. "I've been trying to get Ethel to see it for a long time."

Ethel realised what she had just done, what she'd just revealed. She didn't know much about doctor-patient confidentiality, but she knew there were lines that shouldn't be crossed. "You're not angry with me speaking to Julie, are you?"

"No. I've wanted you to try and be your own person, and stop being like you for years," Esmerelda said, "but you're so stubborn you never listened."

Ethel bridled at being called stubborn, but she had to accept her sister's logic.

Julie was getting more than a little worried about the conversation between the two sisters, but she had no idea what she should do. She saw Sybil chewing her lip, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation taking place.

"Excuse me, but do you mind if I take Sybil out to get something to drink? Would you like that, Sybil?" Julie asked, looking down at the smaller blond girl.

Sybil smiled up at her, delighted with the suggestion. "Yes, please!"

Esmerelda smiled at her sister's delight, she hadn't really paid much attention to her baby sister's feelings during this visit, but now she could see how distressed Sybil was by all of this.

"Sure," she said, grateful for the woman to suggest it. But she wanted to speak to both Ethel and Julie in a bit.

"I'll go with them," Miss Cackle said as Julie led Sybil out, and Esmerelda nodded, seeing that her headmistress was way out of her comfort zone.

Once it was just Esmerelda and Ethel, the older blond girl smiled at her sister.

"You're really not angry with me and Julie, are you?" Ethel asked.

"No. In fact, I'm glad she made you see sense," Esmerelda said, "I have spent years trying to make you realise you are special in your own way. You didn't need to emulate me. It was quite weird, actually; I liked you how you were, yet you were so obsessed trying to be like me."

"Sorry-"

"Hey, don't be sorry, I love you," Esmerelda said and pulled her sister into a tighter hug before letting her go. "Now, what did you and Julie speak about?"

"She was worried about me," Ethel replied after a moment's hesitation. "She had heard about me from Mildred, not that that surprises me all that much, but she is frightened I'll kill myself trying to make my parents proud of me."

Esmerelda didn't like the sound of that, but she had to admit that Julie Hubble had a point. Until she had seen her sister use magical transportation she hadn't known just how far her sister was willing to go. That scared her. Magical Transportation was one of the most dangerous things a witch could learn, but there were other powerful magics her sister would love to learn, but they could easily kill her.

"She told me to do something constructive with my life, like building a new school and travel the world, set up a business or something like that," Ethel went on.

"Maybe she's got a point," Esmerelda replied, trying hard not to let her jealousy show on her face, it was shameful really, since her sister had been through so much, but she had been trying hard to make her sister see sense that it hadn't occurred to her to try another tack.

Esmerelda would love to know just what Julie had done or said to make Ethel listen.

"What did she do to make you listen?" she asked, deciding to be blunt.

Ethel sighed. "She acted like a mother," she admitted, "you've been the closest thing I've had to a mother, but while I've listened to you I didn't hear you. But when I turned up here, I was in a bad way and she took care of me. It's hard not to listen to someone when they do that."

Esmerelda felt her jealousy fade away as she put herself in Ethel's place and she hugged her sister tightly.

Ethel pulled away. "Esme," she began uncertainly, wondering how she should put this one, "how would you feel if I told you I had a dream that you, me and Sybil weren't Hallows, but were part of a different family?"

Esmerelda was astonished by the question. "W-why would you ask that?"

"Because I had a dream that all three of us - you, me, and Sybil - belonged to a different family. How do you feel about that?"

Esmerelda was still astonished by the question, but she relaxed slightly. "As long as I'm with you and Sybil, I don't care," she replied.

"Y-you don't?"

"No, you are my world. When you were born, I was so excited at the thought of being a big sister, and while the novelty wears off for some big siblings it never did for me. It's the same with Sybil. Why, who were our new parents in the dream?" Esmerelda asked.

"Parent," Ethel corrected, "and you've met her. It was Julie Hubble."

Esmerelda gaped at her in surprise. "You dreamt we were Julie's daughters? Mildred's mother?"

"Yeah," Ethel replied before her eyes misted up, "I loved that dream, Esme, I loved every second of it. You know at home, our real home, I always spend most of my time reading alone in my bedroom, well with Julie, I was included in everything. I had fun with you, Sybil, and Mildred. I was a part of the family, and when I woke up I accidentally called Julie mum."

Esmerelda's heart almost broke as she took in the look in her sister's face. It was clear as day Ethel had been happier in the dream than she was in real life with their real family. This was all their parent's fault! Why did they treat their own middle daughter like a goblin? "Ethel, I don't why they treat you like that," she said, feeling that she didn't need to clarify who she was referring to, "and while I love our parents, I don't like the way they laud me and Sybil, and put us on pedestals like we're the reincarnations of Merlin and Morgana and turning a blind eye to you, I love you. You're my sister, and I don't really care that our last names are as long as we're together."

"Thanks, Esme," Ethel whispered.

"Although I am surprised your mind settled on Mildred and Julie," Esme added with a smirk. "You know many people think you don't like her."

Ethel shook her head. "I think we've got some weird connection," she said, "but I don't know what it means. But the strange thing is I envy her; she doesn't have the same expectations you and I have, she doesn't have to worry that much about the code, she isn't rich and yet she has something money can't buy. A mother's love."

Esmerelda hugged her tightly, cursing her mother for being an uncaring monster. What in the name of magic had happened to make her parents ignore Ethel to this extent?

* * *

Esmerelda left Ethel and went off in search of Julie. She found the woman with Miss Cackle and Sybil, and she marched determinedly towards the woman.

"Julie," she called out. The woman turned around, and Esme noticed she seemed a bit nervous, and she wondered why before the answer came to her. Julie was worried that what she and Ethel had spoken about had come to light, and she was worried about what would happen next. Esme led Julie away from Miss Cackle and Sybil, and a glance at the older woman told the teenager that the worry she had hadn't gone away.

"Ethie told me about the dream she had," she said plainly.

"Listen, Esmerelda," Julie began, "Ethel and I got chatting before she had that dream, and she was so upset and I hugged her, so I don't know what made her dream that she and you and Sybil were my daughters as well as Mildred, and we just talked a bit about her injuries. I know it wasn't my business-"

Esmerelda couldn't help but laugh at the woman's babbling.

"What?" Julie asked, bemused.

"I can see where Mildred gets her babbling from, but no, I'm not angry with you in the least. I'm jealous," Esmerelda admitted, deciding to be truly honest with the woman. "I've been trying to get Ethel to stop trying to be like me for a long time. When I saw her use magical transportation when she hadn't studied the theories and spells needed to do it safely, I knew something bad would happen but I couldn't stop her. What did you say to her?"

Julie sighed, but she relaxed a little bit since it was clear Esmerelda wasn't about to kill her. "I told her she was lucky, basically, that she managed to end up in hospital with the injuries she had, otherwise she might have arrived with something far worse."

Esmerelda couldn't help but flinch. She didn't like what Julie had just said, but she understood it and agreed with her wholeheartedly. That sounded like Ethel alright, so willing to excel she put her pride first and personal safety second. "Thank you for looking after her," she said instead, so she could get the ghastly images out of her mind that had just appeared, of her attending Ethel's funeral. "I'm glad you were here-"

"Think nothing of it," Julie whispered, "you should be more thankful Cackle's Academy has such a distinctive uniform. I told the other doctors here that my daughter went to the same school, so I could take care of her."

A thought occurred to Esmerelda. "Has Mildred talked about Ethel?"

Julie nodded, guessing where this was going. "She told me who she was when she woke up, she'd been knocked unconscious when she fell from that tree, but yeah, I knew about Ethel from before she told me who she was. I was a little surprised I was meeting the girl who'd spent the past year bullying my daughter."

Esmerelda winced.

"I'm sorry Esmerelda, but you know Mildred does regret what she did during the entrance exam, but it's not entirely her fault. She was just way out of her league. When Ethel introduced herself, I could tell she was hesitant at first when she found out who I was, and it doesn't take a genius to realise that sooner or later I'd have found out the truth had she lied to me, but I'm glad she didn't."

"How did you feel having to look after the girl who's spent the past year bullying Mildred?" Esmerelda whispered, all the time hating what her sister had become when she was capable of being something so much better if it wasn't for their parents lack of interest in Ethel's wellbeing and happiness.

"I was tempted to have a go at her," Julie said bluntly, and she had. She knew Mildred was far from a saint, she had flaws like everyone else but it wasn't entirely her fault Cackles had an entrance exam dealing with the concepts she hadn't known about until the last minute. "But when I found out who she was, she tried to rant saying Mildred had cheated, but I told her she wasn't in school at the moment, and when she left she might work with people who'll cause her problems. If she never lets Mildred hear the end of the entrance exam and everything else, then she might find it impossible to find a job."

Esmerelda found herself agreeing with Julie. Ethel's pride and stubbornness were a mile wide, she might love her sister, but she knew Julie had made a good point.

"What happened then?"

Julie sighed. "I asked her how she ended up in that tree after saying I'd call Cackles and your parents to let them know she was okay. I don't know too much about magic, but I know with some spells you need to take your time. I think Ethel was a little bit, erm sheepish at that point."

"She should be," Esme said seriously, "magical transportation can go terribly wrong, and because Ethel was startled by Miss Hardbroom before she landed in that tree, she doesn't have the knowledge of how to keep her magic from reacting and sending her off at random."

"Is that what happened?"

"Yeah. It's in third year students are given the theory of magical transportation, but only the theory. Miss Hardbroom teaches the class because she is an expert in magical transportation, and she makes it very clear that for the next couple of years before the final year the transportation spell won't be taught, but only in theory classes will be issued so then there's a lot of understanding before the practical test."

Julie nodded. "Sounds a bit like a driving test," she commented, knowing that driving and transportation spells were completely different, but the principle was the same, "you're taught the theory and encouraged to practice before the exam, but you need to work for it."

Esmerelda nodded. "What did you and Ethel speak about?" she asked as she tried to move the conversation onwards.

"I can't tell you - nurse - patient confidentiality and all that, but what she said bothered me a great deal about what's going on at home," Julie replied.

Esmerelda nodded, sighing when she realised that the confidentiality policies that existed in the magical community existed here as well, but she had a good idea what Ethel had told Julie.

"I don't know what to say to you, Julie," she said honestly. "I was two years old when Ethel was born, but she became my universe and I didn't notice anything wrong with my parents, so I don't know why they've been ignoring her since she was a child to the present day. All I know is it's really hurt her. It's become so extreme Ethel is willing to risk her life using spells she's just not ready for, fake a wart to show she has wart power when there's no such thing, and whenever our mother is meant to speak to her by mirror call she's always so busy, and Ethel lashes out at the others including, I'm sorry to say, Mildred, though I'm a close second."

Julie's heart went out to the teenager in front of her, and she tentatively pulled her into a hug. Esmerelda was a little bit surprised by the hug, but she found herself enjoying it, and it made her realise that even though her parents lauded her and Sybil, putting them both on pedestals, they never really hugged them. The only demonstrative members of her family were her grandparents, and that was sad. Her parents were just….stiff.

"Ethel cried when I held her," Julie whispered into Esmerelda's ear. "It really hurt; for a second I thought she didn't like me holding her, but I realised she had never really been hugged by her mother."

Esmerelda closed her eyes tightly, cursing her mother and father for pushing Ethel down like this, and it made her wonder what in the world had made them be this way. After pulling away from Esmerelda, Julie walked the teenager back to where Ethel was, and they met up again with Miss Cackle and a happy Sybll. They found two people waiting stiffly nearby.

Julie didn't recognise them, but when Esme spoke, she wished she didn't. "Mum? Dad? I thought you were busy?"

The teenager didn't sound happy.

* * *

Next chapter - Ethel's recovery takes a bit of a beating.


	5. Chapter 5 The Hallow Parents

Disclaimer - Don't own the Worst Witch, but I love what the BBC has done with it.

Feedback - Would be lovely, especially since this chapter will put things into perspective for Ethel.

The Hallow parents.

Julie wasn't surprised at the unhappiness in Esmerelda's voice when she greeted her parents, she had learnt enough about the Hallow parents from Ethel to make her worried, but truthfully she wasn't completely sure how far it extended into the lives of the girls.

While Esme was unhappy about her parent's presence, Sybil was delighted; the eleven year old rushed to her parents. "Mum! Dad!" she cried and embraced both of her parents. Julie's frown deepened as she watched the smiles on Mr and Mrs Hallow's faces appear as they wrapped their arms around the girl, but there was something automatic about their expressions that made Julie wince.

"Hello Sybil," Mrs Hallow said with a smile before she pulled away from her youngest and her smile disappeared. Mr Hallow followed suit, and the push button programming in the Hallows worried Julie.

But Sybil didn't notice. She pulled back, still smiling brightly at her parents. "Are you here visiting Ethel?" she asked, pointing to the girl in question.

Julie bit her lip as the two adults only spared a short glance at Ethel in the bed.

"Of course we are, darling," Mrs Hallow said in a simpering, uncaring voice before she headed over to the bedridden sister. "How are you Ethel?"

Ethel was a little surprised by the sudden attention, but like a starving man reaching for a loaf of bread, she tried to grab hold of it.

"Getting better, thanks, though I-" Ethel started to say, about to list everything that still hurt but Mrs Hallow quickly lost interest. "Good," the woman said abruptly, moving away from the bed and heading closer to her eldest child.

"Actually, we're here to see you, Esmerelda," Mrs Hallow said, ignoring the growing scowl on her middle daughter's face.

"Of course you are," Ethel muttered bitterly, and there was a collective feeling of unease at the bitterness in the girl's voice. Ada exchanged a look with Julie, who was just as worried about Ethel's now bitter attitude, and the sudden look of distress on Esmerelda's face. Ethel had come a long way in the hospital as she recovered from the injuries, and had been genuinely happy to see her sisters, and Esmerelda had been more than delighted afterwards that her sister was okay.

Now it was all being undone.

"Why do you want to see me? In fact, is that all you're here for?" Esmerelda asked, turning her distress into anger as she demanded an answer from her parents. "I thought the pair of you were too busy to see Ethel, and yet you're here to see me?!"

Julie caught the surprise on the two Hallow girls and realised quickly that Esmerelda had been pushed too hard by her parents. She only hoped the girl wasn't pushed too far by her parents.

"Esmerelda, we thought you should know that the summer competition that you have with Lisa Gargoyle has been changed, you're not doing spells, you're performing a potions display instead," Mr Hallow said, exchanging a puzzled look with his wife, both clearly wondering what had made their daughter so hostile to them.

Ada frowned, surprised and worried that they weren't just doing what they always did with their children - ignore one while speaking to another - but they were doing it in a non-magical place. Didn't they have any common sense? With that in mind, she waved her hand, putting spells up that would stop eavsedroppers.

"We've brought you a book to help you with your studies," Mrs Hallow reached into her handbag and pulled said book out and handed it over to Esmerelda, though the teenager didn't move to take it. Instead the girl stared at her parents as if she couldn't place who they were.

"You brought a book here for some stupid competition the pair of you pushed me into when my sister, your daughter, is lying in a hospital bed?" Esmerelda hissed, shaking her head in disbelief. "You're both insane, I don't believe it, you're insane; Ethel is your daughter, you two said you were both too busy to see her, and yet you both drop everything to see me about a stupid competition I wanted nothing to do with since I wanted to spend my time with my sisters, what is wrong with you?!"

"We want you to excel in your studies, and besides you love those competitions-" Mr Hallow said, but Esmerelda was steadily losing her temper. The sheer nerve of her parents made her sick, she had known that things were bad with her parents and Ethel, who didn't deserve any of this bat poo, but what really set the teenager off was how her parents had pushed Ethel to the side, and had only come to the hospital to see her about some stupid game!

"No, I don't - not if it means the pair of you push Ethel aside like you're both doing now," Esmerelda whispered softly.

Both Sybil and Ethel glanced at each other with a wince. Ethel knew that when she lost her temper, she would begin shouting at everyone and everything in the vicinity. But unlike her when Esmerelda was angry, truly angry, she was calm and the calmer she was to the naked eye, and the softer her voice, the angrier she was.

Too bad their parents didn't see that. Ethel sighed when she caught the look on Sybil's face, her little sister had always known about the… lack of relationship between her and her parents, but she had always taken a romantic view of the whole thing. Sybil had gotten it into her head, Ethel wasn't sure how or why she'd gotten it into her head, that things would eventually get better between her and her parents. But unfortunately neither Ethel nor Esmerelda were naive enough to believe it, but looking at Sybil's expression made it clear the 11 year old was having second thoughts.

"Esmerelda, you're being unreasonable, and besides Ethel is alright!" Mrs Hallow waved a hand at her middle child in such a dismissive manner that it nearly made Ada and Julie snap, never mind the teenager in question.

"Unreasonable?!" Esmerelda's voice dropped another octave and Ethel wished her parents spent more than a few minutes with their children enough to realise what Esme was like when she was really angry. "My sister performed a transportation spell without knowing the theory and ended up falling out of a tree because she was startled. What would've happened if she had fallen and no one was beneath her to break her fall? She could have died, and what would you two have done then? Avoided going to the funeral except to tell me I needed to put on a broomstick display for people like the Great Wizard himself? Your priorities are astounding!"

Julie sighed and decided to enter the fray, though she was hesitant to do so - she believed the Hallow parents deserved everything they got for their neglect, but she wanted to try to make them interested in Ethel's wellbeing. "Mr and Mrs Hallow, your daughter is still recovering from a nasty fall-" she tried to say, but the Hallow parents' reaction was so comical it was nearly laughable.

"Did we say potions, we meant something different!" Mr Hallow waved a hand, trying to give the air of being a mad eccentric.

His wife was no better. She gestured towards Esmerelda with a smile as if the teenager's angry diatribe had never taken place. "She's always reading books on fantasy, and she loves talking about wizards-" the woman said, but Julie had had enough.

"Mr and Mrs Hallow, I have known about magic for over a year since my daughter became a student at Cackle's Academy," Julie interrupted them while she held down her contempt for these two clowns, "but the next time you decide to speak to one of your children in a non-magical place, like this hospital, please make sure there's no one listening in."

Esmerelda and Ethel had to hide their smirks at the flustered expression on their parent's faces while Sybil looked between the three adults, worry in her features.

"I…. see," Mr Hallow stumbled over his reply, but he quickly recovered his composure and he turned to Miss Cackle. "You have a girl who's not even a witch in your school? I thought better of you-"

Unfortunately, Miss Cackle had reached her own breaking point with these two idiots, besides she could see Julie Hubble's face contort with anger at the clear dig at Mildred, who was innocent in this case. "Mr Hallow, Ethel's wellbeing is more important to me at the moment than whether there are students from non-witch families in my school," she interrupted.

"You…. You're not here to see Ethel, are you?" A soft voice whispered. Everyone turned their attention to little Sybil Hallow. The younger Hallow was looking between both of her parents with wide eyed horror and sadness.

"Of course we are, poppet," Mr Hallow tried to say, though everyone in the room aged 12 and upwards could tell he was lying. But while she was younger than Ethel by about a year, Sybil was far from stupid, and she was torn between believing her father's blatant lie and thinking he and her mother were indeed here for a visit.

Esmerelda snorted, couldn't the idiots see that Sybil had been listening in on this the entire time? Personally she didn't like knowing what her parents were really like anymore than she liked Sybil finally waking up and seeing what kind of relationship Ethel had with them, but she couldn't walk about blindly for the rest of her life, and judging from the frown on the 11 year old's face it was as clear as day Sybil didn't believe her father.

"We're definitely worried about your sister, sweetheart," Mrs Hallow tried to say, but she didn't realise she was only making the lie worse.

"Then why did you only spare her a few seconds of your time before you spent two minutes telling me about that stupid competition?" Esmerelda countered, folding her arms and giving her parents a truly dark look.

"Because it was important for you to know what was happening with the competition," Mrs Hallow explained, "and if you weren't being so childish-"

"Childish?! Oh, right, I'm being childish for caring about my sister, who drove herself mad, pushing herself to be the best, resorting to using an advanced and complicated piece of magic like the transportation spell, just to win your affection because she could prove to you she was able to do it at an age when it was below her level?" Esmerelda snapped.

Julie winced as the argument became more heated, and she glanced around, wondering why no other doctor or nurse was coming in here to find out what was going on; the talk about spells, potions, witches and wizards would probably see the Hallow family sectioned, but the louder voices should be bringing everyone here to get the family to calm down.

A gentle hand on her shoulder made her turn to face Miss Cackle. The older witch smiled at her gently, and leaned in to whisper into her ear. "I cast a spell around the cubicle so then we'd have some privacy," she explained, "don't worry."

Julie nodded and smiled at the older woman before they turned back to the Hallows.

"Ethel could have died using that spell," Esmerelda was going on, speaking over her parents whenever they tried to interrupt. "She could have fallen out of that tree, and landed on the ground. What would you have done then, only spend a few minutes at the grave and talk to your friends about how wonderfully I'm doing at school?" The sarcastic way she emphasised the word wonderfully was spat with such force everyone in the room was impressed, they hadn't realised Esmerelda had it in her to be so brutally sarcastic before.

But Esmerelda was only getting started. "You both know how many dangerous spells there are out there, you know they are way beyond my level; what happens if Ethel tries to cast one that only witches like Miss Cackle here can cast, and she burns out her magic? What will you do then? No, I'll tell you what you'll do. Nothing. You won't lift a finger to help her, you won't even spread some of the money our family has to help her recover."

Mrs Hallow's voice was shaking as she tried to control the anger she herself was feeling. "Esmerelda, enough," she spat angrily, but to her astonishment the teenager just shrugged it off uncaringly, and she swung round angrily to glare at Ethel. The middle Hallow girl shook as her mother looked at her with something like true loathing there, and she realised there and then that no matter whatever she did, her parents would never accept her. It broke her heart.

"This is all because of you," Mrs Hallow hissed, but she didn't get far.

"Mrs Hallow," Ada Cackle had decided she had had enough, and with an icy, rock hard expression on her face similar to her own sister, she glared at the younger witch. "That is more than enough. Can't you see that this has been a long time coming? Your elder daughter is frightened for Ethel's health and future, and all you seem to care about is her competition, not Ethel's wellbeing."

Mr Hallow glared at Ada. "Have a care Miss Cackle, you seem to be forgetting who we are….."

"Don't threaten me, sir," Miss Cackle interrupted, seemingly not bothered by the threat, though all the magical people in the cubicle were aware that the Hallows could cause a lot of damage, maybe not as much as the authority of the Great Wizard, but they could still cause trouble for Cackles if Ada pushed too far thanks to their wealth and influence. "I might have failed to stop Ethel from using a transportation spell, but I am more than capable of helping her now. Your behaviour is against the codes for Witches and Wizards, and you know it."

Mrs Hallow didn't seem to care about the set of laws that governed Witches, something even Julie knew about, though her knowledge was not as substantial as Ethel's or Esmerelda's. "But the girl has ruined our lives!" she growled.

Julie couldn't stop herself, though she knew these two were more than capable of making her life, and by extension Mildred's life, an absolute misery.

"How? How has she ruined your life?" she asked, keeping her voice low and calm enough to ensure that she and Mrs Hallow didn't come to blows.

But Esmerelda and Miss Cackle stepped in; both of them knew that Julie and Mildred wouldn't have a chance of standing up against the wealth and influence of the Hallow family, and they knew that although Julie had the best intentions, they knew she wouldn't last legally or magically against the Hallows.

"She has a point," Ada pointed out, hoping that her interruption stopped Mr and Mrs Hallow from truly taking notice of Julie Hubble, she knew she was almost immune to the Hallow's influence should it turn against her.

Esmerelda folded her arms as she moved to stand between Julie and her parents to shield the lovely nurse from her parent's ire. "I've been trying to work out and wrack my brains trying to find out why you hate Ethel so much," she said almost conversationally though her voice shook. "Why would you hate her, I remember when I was two, you both loved her then. Why change?"

Mr and Mrs Hallow glanced at each other silently for a long time. "I see we're not making any headway here," Mr Hallow whispered, looking at her eldest and youngest, not even glancing at her middle child, with a shake of her head and sniffed in disgust at Ethel before she and her husband left the cubicle.

"I shouldn't have said a word," Julie whispered, now worried about what the Hallows could do.

"No, you were right," Miss Cackle replied, already composing a letter to the Great Wizard so he could make sure the Hallows didn't do anything to Julie or Mildred in the long term. Maybe she could find out from him why the Hallows seemed to hate Ethel so much with his help.

"Ethie, are you okay?" Esmerelda suddenly asked.

The two adults looked over at Ethel, and their hearts mutually broke at the sight of Ethel's face. Tears were rolling down Ethel's cheeks, and she had her eyes clenched tightly as if trying to hold back the worst of the deluge.

"They hate me," she whispered. "They really hate me."

Julie exchanged a look with Esmerelda and Miss Cackle. She had really hoped that Ethel had only just begun to recover mentally from what her parents put her through, but this could truly set her back. Esmerelda went over and wrapped her arms around her younger sister's shoulders. Ethel instinctively burrowed into her sister's embrace, and they were soon joined by Sybil.

The younger Hallow girl had been horrified by what her parents had just said. For a long time she had been turning a blind eye to what they had been doing to Ethel, but no longer. Mindful of her sister's injuries, Sybil hugged Ethel, and made a solemn promise to never ignore what her parents were like with Ethel ever again.

* * *

Hours later Miss Cackle stood in front of the mirror in her office as she spoke to the Great Wizard. She hadn't wasted time as soon as she had escorted Esmerelda and Sybil back to the castle to speak to him. The Great Wizard was silent as she relayed what had happened at the hospital, and his face became very grave.

"I shall do my best to prevent the Hallows going too far," the Great Wizard said at last, though his tone showed how disgusted he truly was with what he was hearing, "but it's possible they may not bother - the Hallows are rich and influential, but their influence extends only in our community."

"I know, but they can still cause problems for Miss Hubble. The woman was only looking after her charge at the hospital," Ada replied.

The Great Wizard nodded. "I know," he said honestly. "How is Ethel doing?"

"Her recovery may be slow by our standards, a broken arm and a broken leg is easily fixed by magic, but her mental recovery has certainly come through. One of the issues I have had with Ethel Hallow is the jealousy she has had towards her elder and younger sisters because her parents constantly celebrate everything that Esmerelda and Sybil do," Ada explained, "and in many ways it reminded me of my own sister, but Ethel is nothing like Agatha. She truly loves her sisters deep down. It's just her parents that make her subdued to the point where she feels she needs to push herself to dangerous levels to gain their affection."

"I understand Esmerelda is the eldest, could this be another case of resentment towards the inheritance law?"

Ada shook her head. "I used to think that, but during the course of the year I hosted what I thought was Ethel's mother in this very office, but I found out it was just a projection of Mrs Hallow. She gave herself away when she uttered Sybil's name, and Ethel's suspicions were raised, and she waved a hand through her mother, and the projection wavered. The look on Ethel's face…. It was obvious she didn't want to believe it. No. It's not a case of resentment towards the inheritance law. It's much worse than that, but I don't know why."

The Great Wizard looked down gravely. He remembered meeting Ethel Hallow, and had been impressed with the little conversation he'd had with her even if she had used the opportunity to tell her how much of a danger Mildred Hubble was, only to completely change his mind later on when he realised how far Agatha's manipulations had stretched.

Surely Ethel wasn't stupid enough to believe that Ada Cackle would want a broomstick cursed? But the girl had cast a curse on her own broomstick, and it had nearly cost the lives of two young witches.

But hearing this report from Ada worried him. Children were considered sacred to their community, and while some cases of child abuse occurred it was quickly stamped down. The Great Wizard tried not to interfere with the affairs of the magical families, but he always made sure they understood he was watching for any trouble.

The Great Wizard hoped the Hallows didn't do anything drastic in terms to Julie Hubble, but he wasn't sure if they planned on doing anything about her. He was just as concerned about Ethel. That reminded him.

"Are you going to put the books detailing magical transportation in the restricted section?" he asked.

Ada felt a rush of annoyance towards the wizard, but she kept her face and voice respectful. "It's already been taken care of, your greatness. The books on Magical Transportation and several other tomes detailing potions and spells that are too advanced for all but the higher years have been placed in the restricted section, but Mr Rowan-Webb, Miss Hardbroom, and myself have layered the restricted area with an alarm spell. If a student touches a book their year aren't meant to touch, an alarm will sound in the staffroom, my office, and in Miss Hardbroom's chambers."

Ada almost laughed when she saw the grimace appear on the Wizard's face. Miss Hardbroom's reputation proceeded her, but Hecate had insisted upon it though truthfully Ada had little idea why since she knew Hecate appreciated her privacy and enjoyed a good night's rest.

"How are you going to find out why the Ethel's parents treat her the way she does, but treat Esmerelda and Sybil like parents should treat their children?" she asked.

The Great Wizard. He wasn't looking forwards to digging into the affairs of the Hallows. His rank as the Great Wizard gave him significant authority, so he could delve into the files of anyone he chose, but the Hallows could cause him a lot of trouble if they found out what he was doing.

"I don't know," he replied honestly as he wracked his brains trying to work out how to solve this particular puzzle. "I'll have to think about this, but I will keep in touch to let you know, but even if I don't I definitely will stop them causing problems for Miss Hubble."

Ada nodded, grateful to the wizard for his understanding and more than grateful for him taking the trouble to help Ethel.

* * *

A/N - sorry about the abrupt ending, but there's more to come. I had to add the Great Wizard because I didn't want any problems for Julie or Ada in the long run; while they might be powerful, they might not be able to cause Julie any real trouble, but that doesn't mean they can't try anything. The Great Wizard has the power and authority to make sure they don't do anything stupid.

Please tell me what you think?


	6. Chapter 6 'Can you adopt us'

A nice little treat for Christmas. Enjoy. Please leave feedback.

A little present for ImaginationOfAFan, for Christmas. I know you love Ethel so this is a Christmas present to you, my friend.

* * *

' Can you adopt us?"

Ethel was delighted to finally return to Cackles, but she was also very sad because she was saying goodbye to Julie. But even though the woman had made her recovery as easy as it could be, she couldn't do anything to repair her injuries. Ethel had returned to Cackles, the hug and kiss she'd gotten from Julie had kept her going, with her injured limbs in casts, but three minutes with the Cackles nurse and her limbs were working almost normally again. Sure, they tingled and stung a little bit, but Ethel knew they would be fine in time.

A cloud loomed over her happiness, however - a cloud in the shape of Miss Hardbroom; the potions mistress and Miss Cackle had lectured her about the dangers of using spells like Magical Transportation, but Miss Cackle seemed to believe she had been punished enough, though she agreed with Miss Hardbroom she should write lines about the dangers, and give a speech to the entire student body about the dangers so it sank into her mind.

It was a little embarrassing, but Ethel had done it gladly because she had no intention of using a transportation spell until she was ready to work it properly. Ethel had already suffered from the experience, and she described in detail what it felt like to fall out of a tree, but she also described what could very well have happened to her if she hadn't fallen on top of someone walking underneath the tree.

But Ethel didn't mind because the lesson had finally sunk into her mind, though if she were honest with herself she had already worked it out long before Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom had come up with the punishment in the first place.

Fortunately, Ethel had been spending some of her time with Esmerelda and Sybil, both girls were over the moon that the worst was over. Both of the elder sisters were a little bit worried about their youngest; Sybil had been truly shaken by how cruel their parents really were, but they hoped it didn't cause her any more distress, though if they were frank, they were pleased she no longer seemed to be willing to ignore what their parents were really like. They only hoped it wasn't going to be a one-time thing.

Ethel had also surprised her sisters and everybody else in the school by being sincerely happy for the cards they'd written for her when she'd been away.

When the next Mirror call day came around, Ethel spoke to Esme and Sybil.

"Are you two planning on talking to mother and father?" she asked her siblings.

Esmerelda shook her head. "No, not really," she replied.

Truthfully she had nothing to really say to either of her parents. After their antics at the hospital when they'd been more interested in some stupid competition, Esmerelda was sick of them. The last thing she wanted was to spend hours speaking to them about something that, truthfully, she didn't want to deal with. Knowing them they'd come up with eight more competitions for her to take part in.

"What about you, Sybs?" Esmerelda asked her youngest sister.

Sybil shook her head. "I don't really want to talk to them," she replied, refusing to talk about it anymore.

Esme frowned, but she said nothing. She had the feeling seeing their parents as they really were had truly done a number on Sybil, but for the time being, she would let Sybil accept the truth and the reality, and if it got out of control then she would step in and try to help the younger girl.

Esmerelda turned to Ethel. "Why do you ask?"

"I want to speak to Julie Hubble, not our parents," she told them.

Esmerelda wasn't surprised by Ethel not wanting to speak to her parents - it was unlikely they'd want to speak to her anyway, but she was a little surprised that Ethel wanted to speak to Julie.

"What do you want to speak to her about?" Esmerelda asked curiously, she didn't have any problems with Ethel speaking to Julie Hubble, but she wondered what her younger sister wanted to say; she didn't have any problem with Ethel seeing Julie as a motherly figure, but the problem was could they actually maintain such a relationship?

"I just wanted to," Ethel replied, not going into details. But she further flummoxed her sisters with what she said next. "Is it okay if you're there with me?" she asked.

Esmerelda shared a look with Sybil, both of them now truly confused by what Ethel wanted, but they decided to play it by ear and see what happened. When the girls trekked to the corridor outside the Mirror room, they had no trouble looking for Mildred - the dark-haired girl was sitting chatting to Maud and Enid about something, and it was clear Mildred was very close to the lead of the line.

Mildred was about to go into the room, fortunately, she had arrived just in time before Drusilla Paddock had a chance to speak to her parents. Drusilla was well known for hogging the Mirror room for long periods of time. So was Esmerelda, but at least Esmerelda had a good reason.

"Mildred," Esmerelda spoke up, seeing Ethel about to open her mouth - Ethel had changed a great deal since the accident, but Esmerelda felt she needed to learn a bit more tact and diplomacy. The dark haired girl turned around. "Is it okay if we come in as well, Ethel wants to talk to your mother?"

Mildred blinked in surprise. "I've wanted to talk to my mother for a while, Esme-" she said, but Esmerelda interrupted. "We know, and we're sorry, but please?"

Mildred looked around the corridor, all of the other girls were perplexed about this as much as she was. "Why-? Oh, okay," she sighed in irritation when she realised she wasn't going to get anywhere. She had just begun to ask the sisters why, if Ethel wanted to speak to her mother, they were coming in as well, but she decided to just get on with it.

Mildred opened the door, holding it open for the other girls and sat down on the stool. It was a tight squeeze, at best only two girls could probably squeeze in, three if there were smaller girls like Sybil, but Esmerelda was taller than all four of them put together. Holding up the card, Mildred flashed the address over the surface of the mirror, and the four girls waited until the image coalesced. For the Hallows, it was an eye opener because for the first time they saw the home Mildred and Julie shared.

Ethel eyed it with a sort of disappointment, she had known for a while like everybody else that Mildred's home was a flat, but she had not realised just how small the place was, but on closer inspection, she realised that the flat looked comfortable and cosy.

In a way, it reminded her of Mildred and Julie; two people who no one could look at twice, but were deeper than they appeared.

"Mum, mum where are you?" Mildred called through the image, and the four girls almost laughed when Julie Hubble, looking messy, appeared. "Millie, hi. How are you doing?" Julie greeted happily with a smile. Her smile became more quizzical when she noticed the three blond girls over Mildred's shoulder.

"Hi Hallows," she greeted. "Is there something you wanted? You're looking well, Ethel, and I see you've no longer got your casts," she observed.

Ethel smiled shyly. "No, I went to the nurse and got my injuries healed, but thanks."

Mildred looked from her mother and Ethel with a little bit of confusion.

Julie shook her head a little bit. In a way, she should have expected magical medicine to be better, but she wasn't offended. "You're welcome, but why exactly are you with Mildred?" she asked quizzically.

Mildred turned on the stool so she could see the three blond girls without needing to turn her head over her shoulder.

Esmerelda was about to talk, but Ethel got there first. "Can you adopt us?"

Julie looked in the mirror, her mouth wide open in surprise. "What did you say?"

"What?" Mildred gaped at her.

"You want her to do what?" Sybil squeaked out.

Esmerelda wasn't surprised that Julie was surprised, she was too, but if she were honest she could see the logic behind Ethel's request. But she closed her eyes, hating her parents for pushing her sister down this route, and what really threatened to break her heart was the look on Ethel's face. Her face was bright with hope Julie would say yes, but something told Esmerelda that while the older woman might say yes, it would not be simple.

"Can you please adopt us?" Ethel repeated, ignoring the surprised expressions from everyone in the mirror room. Esmerelda blinked, surprised that Ethel was going this far, did she really think Julie could adopt all three of them without a fight? It didn't work that way.

Julie made a noise of disbelief and she rubbed her eyes for a second, then she looked up into her former charge's eyes. "Ethel-" she began, but Ethel immediately began babbling, ironically she was imitating Mildred.

"Please, you were better than my mother-"

"Ethel."

"I mean, you're lovely-"

"Ethel." Mildred, the only girl in the room that knew Julie Hubble better than anyone, knew that she was becoming more and more impatient to get a word in, and more than a little annoyed she wasn't getting a word in. She kept silent, though, guessing correctly that Ethel would not take it well.

"And me and my sisters can finally have a family that loves us for us, and doesn't see us as a commodity-"

"Ethel, I can't adopt you," Julie finally managed to say.

The expression that crossed Ethel's face threatened to break the hearts of the Hallow girls, but also Mildred and Julie Hubble. "W-why not? I mean, don't you want a bigger family?"

Julie wasn't sure if she should be angry or not for that particular comment, but she pushed that aside. "Ethel, I loved having you at the hospital, and I hated seeing what your parents put you through, and what they said scared me. But that doesn't mean I can adopt you. You are a bright girl, surely you realise I can't do it?"

With each word that came out of Julie's mouth, Ethel's heartbreak and feeling of sadness was replaced swiftly by anger. "You don't want us at all, do you?" she snapped. "You just want to be with Mildred-"

"ENOUGH!"

Julie's voice cracked like a whip, and in the confines of the Mirror room, all four of the girls shivered at the anger contained inside it. The fascinating thing about the way Julie had said it was she hadn't shouted at all, all she had done was to raise her voice just a fraction, but not enough for it to be a shout.

But there was more to the command. There was a motherly anger behind that tone, and it took the Hallow sisters by surprise.

"I will not be spoken to like that, Ethel," Julie went on in the same angry tone, but it quickly subsided. "It's not a case of just wanting to be with Mildred. That is not true, I always wanted to have more than one kid, ask Mildred if you don't believe me."

Mildred nodded and looked up at Ethel from her position on the stool, her face was expressionless, but her eyes made her feelings very clear. "She's telling the truth," she said, but she refused to say anything more.

"I would love to adopt you," Julie told Ethel, and her eyes flickered over to the other two blonds. "And you two as well, if you'd have wanted me as a mother, but do you really think your parents would let you go?"

Julie didn't give the three Hallows a chance to reply. "From what I saw in that ward, your parents view you as a trophy, am I right Esmerelda?"

The taller girl looked down and nodded.

"Do you really think your parents would want her to leave them?" Julie pointed out. "They might have said you'd ruined their lives, Ethel," she went on, making Mildred gasp in horror, "but I don't know for sure what they might say or do if I or anybody else tried to adopt you. It's one thing for them to say they hate you, but they might not mean it to that extent. I don't even know how to get in touch with them, and even if I did, they might turn around and say no, so I could do nothing. There may even be a major legal battle, and they might even throw a lot of money into it, something I simply can't do; I earn enough to keep the flat, pay the bills, pay off the car, buy the food, and pay off Mildred's tuition at Cackles. I can't fight a long-term battle, I simply can't."

Mildred studied Ethel's face, seeing the downcast look that was there - she felt sorry for the blond, but she needed to hear this.

But her mother had saved the worst for the last.

"And there is the fact your parents have magic, something I don't have," Julie pointed out.

Ethel blinked in confusion. "What does that mean?" she asked.

Esmerelda groaned, and even Sybil sighed as they realised where Julie was going with this, and Mildred facepalmed, muttering "oh my god" under her breath, so she knew where this was going, while Ethel looked between the four females, not getting it before she realised it.

"Oh, you think my parents would use magic to win?" she whispered, aghast.

Julie nodded gravely. "Yes," she replied honestly. "I don't know what your magic can do, but I have a fear, a really really well-founded fear, that your parents could manipulate the courts so then they not only keep you but manipulate the outcome so I could lose custody of Mildred."

Mildred shivered in fear at her mother's words. That had not occurred to her, and judging by the horrified look on Ethel's face, neither had the blond. She noticed that the other two blond girls didn't even try to deny it, or say that it wouldn't happen.

"I would love to adopt you, Ethel, but I am in no position to do it, and I don't know if that precious code would even protect me from what your family can do," Julie said.

Ethel looked down for a second and everyone in the mirror room wondered if she had decided it was a bad idea, but then she looked up. "What if you didn't have to do much at all, would that be better?" she asked.

Julie frowned. "What do you mean?"

"What if someone can ask my parents whether they even want me and if they'd agree for me to be rehomed?" Ethel asked the idea in her mind sparking into a flame.

Julie shrugged. "That is a better idea," she commented, "it's straightforward, and it doesn't involve a legal battle that I would probably lose. Who did you have in the mind?"

"The Great Wizard."

Esmerelda sighed. "Ethie-"

"What?" Ethel said, looking over her shoulder at the taller girl.

"Do you really think the Great Wizard will get involved?"

"He can try," Ethel insisted.

Esmerelda sighed again and rubbed her forehead tiredly.

* * *

After saying goodbye to Julie, Ethel and Esmerelda headed off to Miss Cackle's office with Mildred in tow. Esmerelda glanced at the troubled expression on Mildred's face and the hopeful expression on Ethel's. She didn't need to be a mind reader to take a wild guess what was on their minds, but it truly troubled her Ethel was willing to go this far, but she wasn't surprised. Maybe with Julie as a mother, Ethel could finally get some happiness though it did upset her. But Esmerelda could see problems with this plan. The Great Wizard might say no, he might lecture Ethel on the need for the code, and might cause problems for Mildred further down the line, though she doubted he would go that far. He didn't have any reason to harm Mildred or Julie, never mind punish them for this idea in the first place.

Esmerelda got ahead of Mildred and Ethel and knocked on the door of Miss Cackle's office.

"Come in," Miss Cackle called, and the three girls walked into the office. It was a relief to see Miss Cackle alone without HB looming in the background like a bat.

"Ah, Esmerelda, Ethel, and Mildred, what can I do for you? There hasn't been a disagreement, has there?" Miss Cackle asked the last question with an air of weary trepidation.

"No, Miss Cackle, but my sister wishes to speak to the Great Wizard," Esmerelda replied, her tone making it clear to Miss Cackle that she was not joking, but was deadly serious.

Miss Cackle was surprised by the request and it showed on her face. "What for?" she asked curiously. "Why do you want me to contact the Great Wizard so you could speak to him? And why are you here, Mildred?"

Mildred turned to the two Hallow sisters. "Answer that one," she said, sure she'd mess it up.

Ethel lifted her head high. "I want Julie Hubble to adopt me."

Miss Cackle didn't even try to hide her surprise. "What? Ethel, this isn't an ordinary request, this is important."

"I know, but Miss Cackle, I am not happy at my home. I know witches are not meant to complain, and that they help themselves, and solve their own problems, but this is my solution."

"Ethel, I don't think the writer of that particular part of the code had that in mind as an acceptable solution," Miss Cackle replied.

"I know, but you heard my mother," Ethel protested, "you saw what she did at the hospital. The Witches code says Esmerelda will inherit everything my family has to offer, but the code doesn't say anything about my parents treating me like I'm invisible. They don't do it to Sybil, so why me?"

Miss Cackle sighed and she clasped her hands and rested her chin on top. "Believe me, Ethel, I would like nothing better than to see you happy and emotionally secure, but are you sure this is the best solution?"

"Yes, I am. Julie Hubble's a brilliant mother; I was jealous when I saw how much she and Mildred love each other, and she took wonderful care of me at the hospital-" Ethel said, but Miss Cackle interrupted her. "That may be true, but do you think she'd agree with adopting you?"

"She said she'd love it, but she doesn't want to risk a legal battle she may not win, and she is worried my parents might use magic to manipulate the situation so she loses custody of Mildred," Ethel replied.

Miss Cackle looked at Mildred and saw the very real fear on the dark haired girl's face. "How do you feel about this idea, Mildred? Myself and the teachers are always worried about the feud you and Ethel have, do you think you two can live together without any trouble?"

That question brought home some of the doubts in Esmerelda's mind, and it also made Ethel looked apprehensively at Mildred. The dark haired girl rubbed her eyes. "Everything is happening so fast that I'm having trouble believing what I'm hearing," she replied. "I have always wanted siblings, but since I don't know what happened between mum and my dad, and she refuses to talk about it, I know it was never going to happen. Personally I don't have a problem with mum adopting anyone, and from what I've heard and seen about the Hallows - how Mr and Mrs Hallow ignore Ethel, while they talk about Sybil and Esme, how Mrs Hallow didn't care about Ethel's parent's evening last year which everyone knows about, and what I just heard in the mirror room when the Hallow sisters wanted to talk to my mum where Ethel asked to be adopted really worries me - how can Ethel have ruined her parents lives? I don't have a problem if Ethel doesn't, but my mum can't afford to fight a legal battle, and she definitely doesn't have any immunity to magical attacks. Those reasons and that the Great Wizard may not even agree to this are the only flaws in this plan."

Miss Cackle nodded and rubbed her forehead as she tried to think of a good way this could be solved. "Alright, I'll contact him, but I'm not sure if he will agree. Don't forget - the Great Wizard doesn't ordinarily interfere in the running of magical families."

* * *

Once her visitors were gone, Ada facepalmed and headed for the mirror to contact the Great Wizard. She had been optimistic about this year, especially after the last one (she couldn't say it was Mildred's fault last year had ups and downs, every year had that, and truthfully she was actually glad the girl was at Cackles, and she definitely had something), but she hadn't expected this.

It took a minute and a half to raise the Great Wizard, but when he finally appeared she explained to him what Ethel wanted.

To her astonishment, he didn't look that surprised. In fact, he looked quite sad. "I think that may be the best alternative," he said gravely with a sigh. "Ada, I need to speak to you in person. May I transport in?"

Ada nodded. "Of course."

The Great Wizard nodded back with a smile and he disappeared from the mirror and reappeared in the headmistress's office. "Thank you," he said gratefully while Ada conjured some refreshments. The Wizard took some of it gratefully. "I went to Ethel and Esmerelda's grandmother," he said, "I decided it was the best option since the Hallows could cause problems."

Miss Cackle thought that was a good idea. She remembered Ethel's grandmother during her time at Cackles. Josephine Hallow had been a serious but well-liked student, but it had been years since the two had seen each other. "Did she tell you what you wanted to know?"

The Wizard sighed. "Yes. In fact, when I told her about the proposition she was upset that Ethel hadn't considered her for a prospective guardian, but she understands that she is too old to keep up with a preteen aged girl. And the fact she still runs some of her businesses means her life would be under a great deal of stress. But she is thankful that something is being done to help Ethel."

"You mean she knew about the girl's problems the entire time, and still did nothing?" Ada whispered. "That doesn't sound like the Josephine I remember-"

"The witch you remember then was a young girl only just nearing her prime," the Wizard interrupted her gently. "Also, she was away from the family a few times, and she no longer had the power over her family that she had enjoyed as a young woman. But she tried once or twice to try to make sure her granddaughters were treated like human beings instead of simply being used as trophies."

The two old magicians were silent for a moment. One of the biggest downsides of the codes which governed both witches and wizards alike were they were sometimes used as an excuse for parents to show off their children.

Some parents and people viewed the competitions as a way for their children to learn how to use their magic, but quite a few of them looked at the whole thing with the opposite view. It led to a few problems between child and parent, especially when the child was pushed into competition and contests without a lot of forewarning.

"What did Josephine tell you?"

The Wizard sighed. He would have to confront the Hallows with this information to let them agree for Ethel to be taken out of their care, but he decided that if he told Ada, it would make things a little better.

"When young Esmerelda was old enough, she begged her parents to give her a little sister to play with. The Hallows had planned to just have two perfect children, so it coincided with their plans," he said.

Ada didn't understand. "If it coincided with their plans, what went wrong? And if their plan was to just have two children, how did Sybil come along?"

The Wizard sighed. "Ethel, in their mind, is not perfect - Josephine doesn't understand why that is, so don't bother asking. All I know is what I've just told you. Now, for most parents, it would not make a potion of difference whether their child is imperfect or not. You and I both know how the Hallows pride themselves on being perfect, but it doesn't make sense, especially to Josephine, who tells me that she played jokes and pranks on her parents, and they had fun."

"So did I," Ada said quietly, frowning as she thought about the pranks she played as a child, "but I wasn't derided by my parents."

The Wizard shook his head. "Like I said, don't ask me why," he said sadly, amazed that such a prestigious family would sink to such a depth. "I don't know how the Hallows worked out Ethel was not their perfect, ideal, child, but they did."

Ada blinked. "And then in a few months, Mrs Hallow was pregnant with Sybil, so that probably didn't take too long."

"I will support the adoption, Ada, because it is clear that the Hallows don't have Ethel's best interests at heart," the Wizard said, "but is Miss Hubble capable of looking after two young witches?"

"I think so," Ada replied carefully. "I will need to properly investigate with Hecate's help, but I think she can do it. Mildred seems certain about that."

"How does long Mildred feel about it?"

"I think she feels things are going by so fast, but I believe she is happy. She has always wanted siblings, but I'm not sure if she expected Ethel Hallow to fill that role."

The Wizard nodded as he thought about the girl's feud.

"When do you want to put the adoption through?" Ada asked.

The Wizard sighed. "If you and Hecate will be kind enough to speak to Miss Hubble, that would be appreciated. The sooner we get that done, the better. Once that is done, it will be easy to put it to the court."

A thought entered Ada's mind. "What about Josephine, what will she do?"

"She said she'll support whoever looks after Ethel, but she still regrets that she couldn't do anything," the Wizard said softly.

Ada sympathised with her old schoolmate - she had had enough dealings with Josephine Hallow over the years to know that if the woman was too old to take care of Ethel, then it must be eating her alive.


	7. Chapter 7 Adoption Revelations

Disclaimer - I don't own the Worst Witch, sorry.

Please leave feedback.

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Adoption revelations.

Ethel Hallow walked through the corridors with a bounce in her step and a smile on her face, and she was trying her best to not scream with happiness. The adoption plans were going through, and they would be finalised within a few days. Her soon to be former parents had been angry about the entire thing, but when they found out she was the one being re-homed, they hadn't batted an eyelid.

It did upset her with how they'd just decided to let it happen, and Ethel would be lying if she hadn't wanted her parents to at least show a dash of love for her, their middle daughter. But they hadn't fought any part of the legal proceedings.

Ethel tried her best to push the hurt aside - she had plenty of practice, but it did upset her and she doubted it would ever truly fade with time - and concentrate on what she would be getting.

She was just going through corridors of the school before it was time for Lights out and she was passing through the corridor where her sister's bedroom was. Ethel raised a hand to knock on Esmerelda's door to visit her big sister when she overheard her speaking. Ordinarily, Ethel wouldn't be eavesdropping on Esmerelda's door, but it was what she was saying that made the girl pause and listen.

"I can't lose her. I can't lose Ethie, especially to Mildred Hubble," Esmerelda was saying to herself. Ethel blinked and wondered if Esmerelda had been replaced by someone - she was sounding, well like Ethel. The sheer disgust in Esmerelda's voice when she said Mildred's name was masterful, really.

"Well, I'm not going to let that happen. Ethel is MY sister!" Esmerelda growled, shocking Ethel outside with how... borderline insane she sounded, the footsteps within the room sounding like the older girl was furiously pacing up and down.

Ethel blinked in surprise at what her big sister was saying in her room, did she have a spirit or something possessing her? Esmerelda knew this whole thing was for the best, she knew exactly how hurt she had been each and every single time their parents had ignored her or shouted at her like their mother had done at the hospital. Couldn't Esmerelda see that?

What worried her was Esmerelda was not blaming their parents for her decision to be re-homed somewhere different but was blaming Mildred. Ever since it had gotten out she was being adopted, she had been spending time with Mildred, and by extension with Maud and Enid in the hope they could get to know one another better.

The other three girls had been tense at first, not that Ethel could honestly blame them. Mildred, knowing that she and Ethel would soon be living together and that they'd be foster sisters, had opened up a little bit, but she had been a little tense as though expecting Ethel to lash out. Ethel wasn't completely surprised by Mildred's attitude since the pair of them hadn't really been friends, but she had known their relationship would get better.

She was right. It had taken a bit of time, but she and Mildred had learnt a bit about one another. She had learnt that Mildred had several favourite colours instead of just the one, but that figured since she was an artist.

Ethel's artistic talents had never really been practiced or trained because as a child she had been trying to gain her parents love and they were more likely to care about feats of magic than a drawing, and in the time she had with Mildred she had tried learning some of Mildred's interests while giving Mildred time to see and experience her own hobbies.

It was quite slow because while Ethel knew some of the basics, she was a long way from being a good artist. She didn't know what was driving her to becoming more artistic, but she had the feeling that if she lived with Mildred and Julie then perhaps it would be a good idea to develop some artistic skills her own. Mildred had told her she didn't need to be an artist to live with her and her mother, but Ethel's interest had started when she had seen some of Mildred's drawings.

But Ethel had not avoided her own biological sisters, not now, not after they'd become too close. Sybil was sad she was losing her, but she was grateful to the Hubbles for at least giving Ethel some happiness. It was tough on the youngest sister. Sybil had always been the baby of the family, and therefore she had always believed the best of her parents. But now that was impossible. Sybil had thought she was in some terrible dream when she had heard her mother say Ethel had ruined their lives.

As for Esmerelda….

Ethel had been worried about her oldest sister, seeing how quiet and almost surly Esmerelda had become. Another thing that worried her was how hostile Esmerelda was behaving to Mildred. Oh, she wasn't being overly nasty like Ethel had once been, but she wasn't exactly being friendly. It had started out as hostile glares but it quickly grew to Esmerelda deliberately bumping into Mildred. Kids stuff, but Ethel had to admit she had been no better once upon a time.

She had needed to grow up a little. It was easy for her now because she was no longer pressuring herself to try to be more like Esmerelda, but since her time in hospital and forced to see what would happen to her if she kept trying to be better than Esmerelda and making her parents proud of her, Ethel had been dismayed that their parents would probably not care if she died. They probably wouldn't turn up at the funeral.

What was Esmerelda trying to prove by bumping into Mildred and giving her hostile looks? Surely she did not really think it would achieve anything?

"Maybe if I storm into Mildred's room, I can destroy some of her artwork while she's looking, it will make her run to mummy and make her reconsider the adoption?" Esmerelda said to herself.

Ethel stepped back from the door, feeling quite sick. She knew her big sister was possessive of her, but she had never considered Esmerelda to even think of doing something like this. She really sounded deranged.

But she felt worse when she heard Esmerelda go on. "Or Tabby, what if I lock that cat in a cupboard, threatening to starve him to death-"

Ethel couldn't bear to hear any more. She waved her hand over the door and blasted it inwards with such force the door was almost blown off its hinges, but the young witch didn't care about that - she knew the magic of the castle prevented that kind of damage - and stormed into her sister's bedroom.

Esmerelda had her hands raised as she prepared to cast a spell, but when she saw her sister, she relaxed slightly. Then she noticed the expression of anger on Ethel's face.

"Ethie, what-?"

"You were planning on harming Tabby simply to stop me from being adopted!" Ethel interrupted her.

Esmerelda's face paled. "You were listening?" she whispered.

"No, I just burst in here and accused you for kicks, what do you think?" Ethel snapped before she closed her eyes and forced herself to calm down and regain some of her composure - shouting wouldn't do much good, and it would definitely attract the attention of the teachers, though since she had blasted the door with magic, it was only a matter of time before someone came to investigate the noise. "Why would you do this, Esme? You've been rotten to Mildred for days, bumping into her and glaring at her. Why, why do you believe Mildred is going to take me away from you? She can't. You and Sybil are my sisters. Do you really think I'm going to push you away?"

Esmerelda backed away, feeling sickened and ashamed by her behaviour. But her Hallow pride refused to accept or cede defeat. "But you will be living with them, you won't be with us-."

"Us? Do you mean mum and dad?" Ethel interrupted quietly, the pained look on her face shutting the older head of year instantly and stopping any hint of an argument. "When she said to me in the hospital bed I had ruined their lives, I knew nothing I could do in the future would change their minds. Esmerelda, how many times did you catch me in the library, studying some of the most dangerous potions that only witches with Miss Hardbroom's experience are able to make, just to get them to see what I'm doing and say something to me. I'm not going to bother anymore, and if somehow they change their minds about me, what will happen then?"

Esmerelda licked her lips as she thought about it. "They won't have any common ground with you."

"No, they won't. I've got common ground with you, Sybil, and our grandparents. But those two, they're practically strangers."

Esmerelda couldn't help but feel sadness at the matter of fact way Ethel said that, but she knew it wasn't her fault. She wished there was something she could say to her parents to make them wake up, but because she didn't have a clue what had made her parents begin to hate their own daughter, she couldn't do anything. She wondered what her parents would do over the summer, but she didn't want to know.

"I would love nothing better than to sit with them or spend time talking with them about something, but when I looked into my mother's face, listened to them go on about that competition they'd arranged for you, I knew they didn't care," Ethel went on. "They were so more interested in you and living in that stupid bubble of theirs, and they still are."

Esmerelda looked down at her hands. She was just as upset and angry by what their parents had done on that day, it had shattered not just her own perceptions of her parents, but Ethel and Sybil had also seen a few revelations they hadn't wanted to admit to themselves. And it wasn't just them; Miss Cackle and Julie Hubble had also been there, and if it hadn't been for Miss Cackle's quick thinking, someone in that hospital could've overheard their talking about magic. But they had spoken about magic so freely in a non-magical place. Sure, some people would've considered the Hallows eccentric or even crazy, but not all of them would.

They were lucky that Julie already knew about magic. If Ethel had been taken care of by somebody else…..

"Why are you being nasty to Mildred, and why are you even thinking of harming Tabby?" Ethel asked.

Esmerelda bit her lip. "I was desperate to keep you in the family, I didn't want to lose you," she said. "I thought if I was horrible to Mildred, she would tell her mother, and then she'd change her mind-."

"Did you really think I would abandon you and Sybil just because I was living with another family? I can't believe you. I would be living away from you, but I'd still see you-you and Sybil would definitely be allowed to come to the flat. I wasn't going to be imprisoned, Esmerelda. I just can't believe you were even thinking of hurting a cat to make me stay with you."

Esmerelda felt wretched. "I-I don't know what I was thinking," she confessed quietly, "I was so desperate to keep you that I didn't think about what I was even thinking."

Ethel jumped at Esmerelda and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Esmerelda, I love you and Sybil," she whispered, "I wasn't planning on abandoning you. I couldn't - you two are the only things that kept me sane at that damn mansion."

Esmerelda wondered if her sister even had an inkling of how much things were likely to change for them. For Esmerelda and Sybil, the mansion would become a very lonely place, and Sybil would probably hate it since she knew what their parents were like now.

For Esmerelda, she would have to do nothing but study study study for those stupid competitions and listen to her parents talk about the family business in long, incredibly unbroken sentences that moved from topic to topic without giving her the chance to cope probably. They were really quite hypnotic. Ethel and Sybil had no idea how lucky they were to not have to endure that, but Esmerelda had always kept her sanity by thinking about Ethel. Without her at the mansion, she would be lucky to function properly.

"I know," Esmerelda whispered, tears springing to her eyes as she realised the full extent of her mistake. "You and Sybil are all that keeps me sane. Seriously, Ethel, you have no idea what our parents are like. They bore me to death, make me study every single aspect of the business. They make me learn and assimilate every little detail, every number. Everything. They even had me tell them about their cleaning rosters. I'm serious, its a nightmare. I think I'll go mad without you."

Ethel sighed under her breath and hugged her sister.

"I just wish you didn't have to leave," Esmerelda whispered.

Ethel said nothing as she listened to her sister beginning to cry.

* * *

"Let's get this over with, Miss Cackle," Mr Hallow grumbled as he and his equally angry wife entered the headmistress' office. The Hallows had been waiting for this moment for a while, and they had already ensured their affairs were in full order. The only reason they were angry was that it was embarrassing so many people knew their personal business.

Miss Cackle exchanged a look with the Great Wizard and Miss Hubble. All three of them were a little bit wary of what was about to happen. Miss Cackle wished that this delicate process wasn't happening at the school, but Julie Hubble had pointed out during the Great Wizard's visit to her home when he'd dropped by personally to speak to her about the process that she didn't know anything about the magical world and Cackles was the only place she was familiar with, and besides both Esmerelda and Ethel were here and they probably wouldn't want their schooling interrupted by something this important.

The Great wizard had accepted the woman's logic and had told Ada, who had to admit it was a good point. There was no telling how long this whole mess was likely to be, and as Ada had had time to think about it she could see another benefit of having this at her school. If she took the girls away for the day, it would mean a long trip there and back - for adult witches that wasn't a problem, they could materialise and dematerialise anywhere via the transportation spell, and they could take or send people to wherever they should go, but it was sometimes a drain on the power of the witch doing the sending.

Ada was not looking forward to this. She had been dreading the entire thing, and since she had heard about what the Hallows had done and how quickly they had decided Ethel was not the perfect child they had wanted all along, she had tried mentally to prepare herself for the meeting so she didn't curse them.

"Why is she here?" Mrs Hallow demanded, gesturing at Julie, and the woman folded her arms.

"I'm going to be taking Ethel into my care," she said.

Miss Cackle was horrified by what the Hallow parents did next, and so too were the Great Wizard and Julie Hubble, and she couldn't help but feel that fate was truly cruel because Esmerelda and Ethel had both walked into the room, so they witnessed what their parents did next.

Gone were the surly expressions on the Hallow parents faces. Now they looked happy.

"You are?!" Mr Hallow exclaimed with a smile.

"Oh thank you!" Mrs Hallow gushed, racing forwards and clasping Julie's hands, unaware or completely uncaring that both her daughters were watching this scene with bitterness and sadness.

"You have no idea how fantastic that is," the woman said with tears in her eyes. "We never did want the girl so soon after dear clever Esmerelda, but Esmerelda was obsessed with having a sister that we gave in, but Ethel was not the perfect daughter we wanted."

Eyes full of contempt, though a tinge of sadness when she glanced over the woman's shoulder to take in the shocked faces of Esmerelda and Ethel, Julie gently but firmly removed her hand from the grasp of Mrs Hallow.

"So you decided you wouldn't bother much with her after that? She was only a child then. There's no such thing as a perfect child."

The woman's smile disappeared. "Maybe to you, but the Hallow family's standards are much higher."

"Only in your little brain." Julie blinked in surprise as an older woman with wispy greyish hair that was immaculately styled appeared in the office. She looked like an elderly version of Ethel, and she was looking at both blonds kindly. She held out her arms.

"Gran," Esmerelda said and hugged the older woman. The woman's eyes twinkled kindly at her granddaughter.

"It's good to see you, Esmerelda, though I wish things were different," the older woman smiled before her expression became grimmer and more saddened as she looked at Ethel, who was looking so stricken it was painful to watch. "Ethel?"

"Is it true, did they only have me because Esme begged?" Ethel whispered.

The older Hallow closed her eyes and glared at Ethel's parents who now looked stricken. "Yes," she said. "Those two had it in their heads they'd have only had two children, so it coincided with their plans when Esmerelda asked for a sister to play with. But when you were born, Ethel, I don't understand myself because a few months later they had Sybil, and they had their perfect daughters."

Julie closed her eyes. It was beginning to sound similar to the lines of the Nazi party's philosophy the way and the manner the Hallows treated their children. She opened her eyes, hoping that Ethel didn't target Esmerelda as the sole reason for her life being turned topsy-turvy and aimed it at her parents.

The older Hallow woman noticed Julie and walked over to her. "Are you going to be adopting Ethel?"

Julie nodded. "Yes," she replied, hoping that this woman wasn't going to be as difficult as Mildred had described other witches of being. "I am. I'm Julie Hubble," she introduced herself.

The older woman narrowed her eyes. "Hubble, I don't remember that name-"

"Er, sorry, but Gran…." Esmerelda and Ethel both took the older woman aside and spoke to her in quiet voices for the next few minutes. The older woman approached Julie again. "So you are not a witch, but you have a daughter in the school who is?"

Julie nodded. "Yes," she said with a smile. "I also took care of your granddaughter when she was in the hospital."

"I know, and I am truly grateful. I just wish that I had been there, but unfortunately, my business took up all my time, and by the time I found out Ethel was practically discharged anyway. My name is Josephine, by the way," the older woman smiled.

"Nice to meet you," Julie smiled back.

Esmerelda and Ethel shared a look. They were surprised by how well their grandmother and Julie were getting along with each other. Josephine recalling her manners didn't just extend to Julie, but also the Great Wizard.

The moment she realised he was there, the woman instantly apologised for her lack of manners. "Oh, your Greatness, I am sorry, I didn't realise you were here. Well met," she placed the back of her hand against her forehead.

The Great Wizard nodded, a little miffed but he instantly pushed that aside. "Well met."

Josephine smiled at Ada. "Well met, Ada, its good to see you."

"And you, especially because of the circumstances."

"Yes," Josephine's voice darkened noticeably and she turned towards Ethel's parents. "I will deal with you later for this. I have spent the past twelve years trying to make you grow up and look past your beliefs of perfection, but it is too late now. I have no problem with the adoption though I wish I was the guardian of Ethel, Esmerelda and Sybil at the same time. At least with me, I wouldn't have them waste their time in petty competitions. Yes, I agree that as the eldest Esmerelda should be seen, but I wouldn't have it done every day of the week during her holidays. Let's get on with this."

The transfer of guardianship took place in only a few minutes. When it was done the Hallows just left without a backward glance at their middle daughter, though they did try to hug their eldest, unfortunately, the teenager shied away from them. Julie couldn't blame the teenager for her reaction; the revelation that she might have had something to do with Ethel's mistreatment must be killing her.

When the Hallows were gone, Ethel looked like she had been punched in the stomach. Josephine walked over to her and gently draped an arm over her shoulder.

"Ethel?" she whispered.

"I can't believe they did that, say I was not perfect not long after my birth. How could they do that?" Ethel said so softly and sadly that everyone in the room felt sorry for her.

Julie joined Josephine and Ethel. "Who knows?" Julie shared a look with Josephine, wondering if the older woman knew more about what happened than the girl's parents thought.

Ethel just shook her head. "I've spent years trying to be better, I pushed myself into learning about magic. I even nearly killed myself with the transportation spell-."

"Yes, you did," Josephine interrupted, looking at her granddaughter with a strange mixture of pride and annoyance. "While I'm pleased you were able to use that spell at your age, I'm annoyed you ignored the safety warnings of the spell."

Ethel quailed a little bit at the older woman's displeasure. "I was stupid," she said. "It wasn't until she told me I'd ruined their lives that I saw they would never accept me."

Julie bit her lip. "Maybe in the future, when you've done more than they might imagine, they will change their minds," she suggested, though she added bitterly, "and they will probably forget everything that they've said to you recently."

Josephine nodded bitterly, sharing the same thought.

When Josephine left, she promised she would meet her granddaughter in the summer. Her departure found Ethel sitting with Julie and Esmerelda. The Great Wizard, more than happy that his task was over, left with a farewell.

Julie looked at her new foster daughter fondly. "How do you feel knowing you're going to live somewhere else?" she asked, more than aware of Esmerelda's feelings, but she needed to ask this question because if there was any problem now was the time to clear the air.

Ethel looked up at Julie - her new mother - with a smile. "I don't know," she said honestly. "It's so surreal, I've been waiting for this for days, but I don't know what to feel."

Julie smiled kindly at her. "Hey, it will be okay. Just take one day at a time, hmm?"

Ethel nodded. When it was time for the girls to return to their lessons and for Julie to return home, she stopped Esmerelda from leaving the office. "Listen, I don't know what is going to happen during the summer, but you and Sybil are more than welcome to see Ethel," she told the teenager. "She isn't going to abandon you just because I've adopted her."

Now Esmerelda felt more ashamed of her behaviour towards Mildred, and her selfish desire to keep Ethel and keep her from being happy made her feel sicker.

"Thank you," Esmerelda whispered.

"That's one of the reasons why you have been bumping into Mildred, isn't it?" Julie said.

Esmerelda winced. "She told you about that?"

"Yeah," Julie said, "but I understand why you did it, but I'm glad you were behaving like a teenager because I did worry that your parents stopped you from acting like one."

"I was frightened, Julie," Esmerelda whispered, not sure how to feel about Julie's statement about her being a teenager. "I didn't want to lose her. I know that it sounds stupid-."

"It's not," Julie smiled before pulling the girl into her arms, and once more Esmerelda surrendered to the embrace of Julie Hubble. She was a little envious about Mildred, and now Ethel, having this woman in their lives.

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Any ideas for how Ethel and Mildred should interact as sisters?


	8. Chapter 8 Life of Ethel (Hubble) Hallow

My final chapter for this story. Thank you all for reading and enjoying it.

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Life of Ethel (Hubble) Hallow.

The end of the school term had come, and the girls at Cackles Academy were getting ready to leave for the summer holidays, but for the Hallow sisters things were not quite as happy because Ethel was going with Mildred to start her new life. The only good thing was all three girls knew that they would be catching up with each other during the summer holidays, but that didn't mean they weren't still depressed by the separation. Their grandmother, the same woman Mildred had encountered when she and Ethel had travelled back into the past when Ada and Agatha had both been students themselves at the Academy, had been speaking with Julie Hubble so the sisters could see each other during the holidays.

Julie had agreed wholeheartedly by all accounts, since she liked Esmerelda and Sybil and hoped that the three girls would be have a fantastic time during the holidays if they could get away from their parents who were so controlling it was unbelievable.

But while the Hallow sisters were happy with the arrangement since they had discovered that their parents had been loudly attacked by their grandmother so their ordinary summers of extensive study would be a little bit more relaxed though they would need to study as a means of appeasing their parents, that didn't mean neither girl was not upset that Ethel would no longer be at the mansion.

The Hallow sisters were hugging each other, using all of their family pride to stop themselves from breaking out into tears like they would never see each other again while Mildred and her friends looked on. The three girls had begun to get along with the Hallow sisters, and thanks to the adoption Ethel had changed as well.

"What are you going to do with your holiday now Ethel's going to be living with you and your mum, Millie?" Enid asked.

News of the adoption had gotten out though truthfully it was hardly a state secret, though for many of the girls, particularly in the second year it was a surprise since they knew only too well how much of a rivalry Mildred and Ethel had, but when they had heard the story of how kind Julie Hubble was to Ethel and how she had accepted the adoption, it had made them wonder just what had happened to make Ethel go that far and ask to be adopted by the mother of her school enemy. The Hallow sisters had tried to keep everything to themselves because in their minds it was no-one's business but their own and Mildred's, but Beatrice and Clarice who were Sybil's friends had been told the story, and because the two girls didn't have a discreet bone in either of their bodies it didn't take long for rumours to circulate. Once the rumours began to spread, it was virtually impossible to stop them becoming harder to keep down. Mildred and her friends, who knew the truth, had been upset on Ethel's behalf since the rumours began to become more outlandish - some said that the Hallows had gotten rid of her because she was a werewolf or something like that. Personally Mildred was not even sure herself which of the Hallow sisters was the angriest - Ethel because the rumours were centred around her, Esmerelda because this was her younger sister and Sybil because it was her own friends for telling the story in the first place. Eventually Ethel became so fed up with it all she asked Miss Cackle if she could address the entire school and put an end to them.

To everyone's surprise Ethel told them the entire story. She had told them about how Esmerelda had begged her parents to give her a sister a play with, and how she had come along and had not been 'perfect' enough for the Hallows though for most of the family it made little difference. She also described how her parents had ignored her, neglected her, and basically put her down. She also pointed out that last years Parents' evening, something she had been truly looking forward to, had been a disaster because her mother hadn't even bothered to make the trip. She had just sent a projection spell. While Maud and Enid had their own issues with Ethel after seeing for themselves just how nasty she had been to Mildred, using their dark-haired accident prone friend as an emotional punching bag whenever something didn't go her way, or whether she had just come back from another disastrous attempt to speak to her parents and used Mildred to make her feel better by bullying her, the two girls balked at that. Using a projection spell was low. But having that same woman tell Ethel, her own flesh and blood, she had ruined her life was much worse.

After that, it didn't take long for people to stop making stuff up.

The teachers hadn't been impressed much themselves but there was nothing they could do about it. Ethel had then told them about how she had misused the transportation spell, telling them how she had ended up stuck in a tree and then collapsed on top of someone before she ended up in the hospital.

Ethel then told the school how Julie Hubble had taken care of her, even when the woman found out who she was since it was more than likely that Mildred would have told her mother about what Ethel had done, though her compassion had taken the girl by surprise, more so as she described how wonderful it felt to be hugged. No-one in the school couldn't feel a twinge in their hearts when Ethel described that scene, but things became worse as she told them about that wonderful dream she'd had. Mildred had been surprised, even resembling a fish at how Ethel had described herself as Mildred's fraternal twin sister while Esmerelda and Sybil were also her sisters. That was the first time she had heard of it. When everyone had heard that they had thought they'd been dropped into another universe. It said a great deal about Ethel when she used a wistful but sad voice to describe how instead of being Hallows, she and her sisters were seen as the worst witches of the school, something that made Hecate Hardbroom amusing to look at. The deputy headmistress had looked like she was about to have a seizure at the idea of there being four worst witches in her classroom from the same family.

For Mildred, hearing about that dream made her realise how little she and the others actually knew about Ethel. To hear that dream about how Ethel had actually wanted to be her biological sister had been a surprise and she'd wondered if her mother's attention had warped Ethel's mind, but she had been more surprised by how much of an effect her mother's care to the blond was. Mildred was actually touched and felt it explained the blond's desire to make it a reality. It had taken her a while to realise what Ethel was trying to do.

She was trying to escape from her parents. Not that Mildred could blame her since they sounded like a right pair, but the contents of the dream and how Ethel had been desperate for her mother to adopt her in the first place, said Ethel just wanted to be free to give herself the chance to be happy. Mildred knew that if the roles were reversed, she would do the exact same thing.

"Are you two going to be okay with her?" Maud added.

Maud herself didn't know what to think; personally she felt that Julie Hubble was a good choice for a foster mother, but she didn't know for sure if Julie could be what Ethel needed. She had raised these doubts with Mildred, and the dark-haired girl had to admit she had raised some good points. Ethel Hallow was used to the best, and her mansion was the pinnacle of what the Hallows possessed. One of Mildred's fears which she had raised with her mother was Ethel would soon become extremely bored with life in the flat that she would try to get back with her parents, forgetting the pain they had put her through and forgetting that they had been delighted to get her out of their lives.

"I hope so," Mildred glanced at her friends before looking at Ethel, her new foster sister. It was still strange to see the girl like that considering their histories.

Mildred had always wanted a sibling to play with just as her mother had always wanted more than one kid, but she had never imagined her mother actually adopting someone, especially Ethel Hallow. If someone had told her that she would be Ethel's foster sister, Mildred would have told them they were barking mad. But now she was pleased. Mildred had been outwardly surprised in the mirror room when Ethel had begged her mother to adopt her, but inwardly she had been partly horrified while the rest of her wondered if she had entered the twilight zone on a broomstick made of cotton candy and liquorice. When she had heard how Mr and Mrs Hallow believed Ethel had ruined their lives, she had been horrified; she had known for a while Ethel wasn't anymore popular at home as she was in Cackles, but she hadn't known or even expected it was to that extent. She had felt truly sorry for her fellow sister who had founded the Hair raisers after that debacle with the mutant hair after she had got bat drool mixing with the potion she had tried to use to regrow her hair when Ethel had confessed after telling them all in the corridor as they were swamped with hair the wart was fake. But she was even more sad for the girl when she heard how Mr and Mrs Hallow ignored her and preferred Sybil and Esmerelda, and she had wanted to try to speak to Ethel, but she had decided against it since the blond wouldn't have wanted to talk about it.

Mildred was dreading the holidays. She hadn't told her friends, she didn't need to; they could see it in her body language and in her expression. Things between her and Ethel had improved, Mildred was not denying it, but she did have worries. What if Ethel had some special need her home couldn't even come close to providing? What if she went off in one of her bad moods because Julie said or did something she did not like? But she had other concerns; what if the Hallow sisters came to the flat and they didn't like it?

Maud and Enid were the only ones to truly know what was going through Mildred's mind since she had told them, but they didn't know what they could say since they didn't know themselves what was going to happen.

"I think mum wants to take us to Scotland after giving Ethel the chance to settle down at the flat and get used to the neighbourhood," Mildred went on, "but what we're going to be doing in the meantime, I don't know."

"Oh Scotland, you're so lucky!" Maud said with a slight whine.

"You're going by bus again?!" Enid asked.

Mildred chuckled at their reaction remembering how they'd reacted like they had never seen or been on a bus. For Mildred, a bus was a mundane vehicle to hate since they sometimes never arrived on time, they were packed or someone was vomiting over a seat, but for Maud and Enid they were as magical as many of the things Mildred had seen during her time at the school.

"I think so, yeah," she replied, though she wondered if her mother had a different idea this year when Ethel walked over to them hesitantly with Esmerelda and Sybil following close behind. Maud and Enid both studied the middle Hallow sister, hoping their apprehension was hidden from her and her sisters. Ethel looked nervous, and the looks she was sending towards her two sisters was telling.

Maud had been feeling sorry for Ethel and Mildred, but looking at Ethel now she definitely felt sorry for the blond, who was trying desperately to appear strong but was terrified and upset about leaving her sisters.

"Are we going now?" Ethel asked.

Mildred nodded, "Yeah, we are. We'll see you guys over the summer then?" she added addressing Sybil and Esmerelda.

Maud and Enid knew that the question was just as much for their benefit as it was for Ethel's. The eldest and youngest sisters looked relieved by the question and the knowledge they'd see Ethel soon.

"Yeah," Sybil cheered and she hugged Ethel one more time before she hesitantly did the same to Mildred. The dark haired girl was a little surprised but after a quick glance at the other sisters, she wrapped her arms around Sybil for a moment before the two let go.

"See you next term!" Mildred hollered to her friends as they flew away from the school while the Hallow sisters flew off leaving her with Ethel, who was looking nervous. Flying close to her, Mildred hesitantly touched the blond's arm. It made Ethel start. "It'll be okay," Mildred said to her new sister (she was still getting used to it, having a sister, something she would never have imagined would have been used to describe Ethel Hallow).

Ethel tried to smile back, but she was still nervous. Mildred could see there were questions that were flashing across the blond's face, but none of them reached Ethel's voice. "How long will it take to get there?" she asked instead, and it was clear that was not what she'd wanted to ask.

Mildred spared her a kind smile. "Not long," she answered.

Ethel had been worried about what would happen over the holidays, but while she liked Julie she didn't know what the woman was like as a parent. She had been trying to keep her worries under control, trying to appear confident in front of everyone from the teachers, to Esmerelda and Sybil, but more importantly to Mildred. But she was terrified, and if the looks Mildred was sending her way was any indication she knew it was a farce.

Just seeing that expression, like Mildred was saying with her face "who are you trying to kid?" didn't make the blond witch feel any better. The flight to the flat seemed to take forever, so Ethel was glad when Mildred took her to the estate where the flat was. Ethel had never been to an estate before, so she looked around fascinated before she and Mildred landed on the balcony.

"Home sweet home," Mildred said as she opened the door.

Ethel had seen the inside of Mildred's flat before, but that had always been with mirror calls, so seeing it in real life was very different to what she'd expected. The flat was certainly small in size, scarcely bigger than what she'd grown up in, but it was more cosy than the Hallow family mansion. The flat was more warmer, it felt more loved than the mansion which was kept in such new condition by the retainers Ethel wouldn't have been surprised if the place had been just as cool as it had been when her parents became the current heads of the family business. But this flat was different - Mildred and Julie had worked hard to make the flat into a home, far more than her parents had done with their own home.

The living room and the kitchen were basically just one room while the balcony was one a stones throw away from the kitchenette. She smiled at the plaque reading 'Bon Appetit,' Her family didn't have anything in their home that told you to enjoy your meal, nothing whatsoever. It was all cold.

Ethel had seen the cooker in her family home, and it was half the length of the room, but this one was tiny. It was so strange, Ethel was used to living spaces that were so impersonal. The dining room and the living room at her mansion were massive, and yet they were cold, giving off an unloved feeling.

Ethel knew her parents would not like the living space of the small flat anymore than their so-called friends who had spent the past few years trying to arrange a marriage with Esmerelda so they could access the Hallow family connections. They would all take one look at this place and they would sneer, say that it was the home for rats since it was so small. But the longer Ethel stayed in the flat, the more comfortable she was.

The Hubble family home's living space had a massive couch in front of a computer on top of a shelf with books and DVDs and CDs stacked inside in a haphazard way. The pictures ranging from photographs of the Hubble family and drawings and paintings done by Mildred while little knick-knacks were scattered around the flat. One thing caught her attention. It was a photograph showing Julie and Mildred on what looked like a sailboat tugging on a rope. Ethel carefully picked the photograph up and studied it. Mildred and Julie were definitely on a boat, in fact it looked like they were sailing on it, Mildred looked like she was a couple of years younger than she was at the moment, dressed in a red jacket with a hood up while Julie was dressed in a deep orange jacket while she helped her daughter with the rope. The photo had obviously been taken in terrible weather because Ethel could see the strain in Mildred and Julie's faces as they tugged on the rope, soaked by the waves of water as it splashed in their faces.

Ethel hadn't known Mildred was a sailor, or someone who had something to do with boats. "I didn't know you were a sailor," she commented to Mildred, looking up and saw that the dark-haired girl had already taken her cloak and hat off.

Mildred saw the photo in the blond witch's hands. "Yeah, my mum loved it when she was young, but now she rarely finds the time. Over the years she's taken me with her on boats," Mildred smiled at the memory, "I got soaked to the skin when that picture was taken."

Ethel put the photo back. "When did you last do it?"

"That picture was taken a year before I went to Cackles, but over the years mum's taken me on boating holidays whenever she can," Mildred replied looking around. "Mum's at work, there's note on the table. She says she's getting a takeaway. Do you like Chinese?"

Ethel had never had a Chinese in her life, never mind a takeaway. "I'm sorry, I don't know," she replied apologetically.

Mildred looked at her sympathetically. "You're not allergic to rice, are you?"

"No," Ethel replied.

Mildred relaxed. "Oh good, mum wants to know what you're allergic too. She wrote that on the note. Anyway, she says your rooms' sorted out."

"My room?" Ethel said stupidly before she slapped her forehead. Of course she would have her new room, but she made it sound like the Hubbles' had planned for her to sleep on the floor or the couch.

Mildred looked at her quizzically. "Yeah, your room," she replied, "come on. Better pick up your things."

Ethel picked up her cat basket and her things and followed Mildred. Her eyes widened as she took in the bedroom. It was smaller than her bedroom at the Hallow family mansion, but like her old room this one was done up in purple paint. The duvet cover was purple as well on the single bed. There was a desk and a chair and a bookshelf that was currently empty. There was a new cat bed for Nightstar, and a wardrobe. Ethel went over to the wardrobe and opened the door. There were plenty of hangers inside but there was no clothes in the wardrobe. It was just waiting for her input.

"I told mum you liked purple," Mildred said uncertainly, "she wanted it to be a surprise when you got here, to help you feel at home. You can decorate however you like. I know that the flat is probably not what you're used to, but-."

Ethel rushed over to her and hugged her awkwardly. "I think its brilliant," she whispered.

Mildred, taken aback by the hug, returned it.

Fortunately for Ethel, her parents had already transferred her clothes to the school before she had left for the summer. Some of the clothes were indistinguishable from the types of clothes Mildred and other non-magical kids wore, but some of it was made in different styles that Ethel knew would probably not let her blend in. Deciding to just throw on a simple pair of jeans, a shirt and a top, Ethel came out of her new bedroom and entered the living room where Mildred was currently setting up something on the floor. "What's what?"

Mildred looked up with a grin. "Well, I was thinking of dancing," she said, "this is a dance mat. Mum and I usually dance on it, and get a score on the computer. Do you want to join in, I haven't been on this thing in ages?"

Ironically Ethel had done brilliantly in dancing gracefully, but she absolutely hated it. For rich families, the idea of having graceful daughters was supposed to build up confidence and balance on broomsticks, but Ethel hated dancing because the lessons took her away from her precious books and learning how to undermine Esme.

But she was intrigued by the dance mat, though not enough at the moment to do anything with it. "Is it okay if you go first? I had dancing lessons as a kid, and believe me they were horrible," Ethel replied.

Mildred shrugged her shoulders, realising that if she argued then Ethel would just dig her heels in and refuse, and she wasn't in the mood to get into a fight. "Sure."

When Mildred had suggested playing on the dance mat, Ethel had thought that her new foster sister would be dancing in much the same way she herself had learnt. The reality was different, instead of moving gracefully like she'd expected the dark haired girl to do, Mildred was practically jumping around the mat on arrows pointing outwards in all directions while the computer screen showed arrows going up while a tune played out. It actually looked like fun.

Ethel had never seen Mildred move so fast before, but towards the end her new sister moved so fast that Ethel could barely see it. Finally Mildred practically leapt off the mat and onto the couch, panting hard.

"How did you do that around the end?" Ethel asked curiously.

"I dunno. Do you remember when I was expelled?"

Ethel nodded, remembering only too well. She had been delighted at first with the news Mildred had been expelled from the school, but it didn't take long before she realised how much she missed the dark haired girl, and brought her back when Esme had been turned into a trophy.

"Well, mum and I played on the mat; she gave up, but I kept going, and then that happened, I just moved so fast. Mum wondered if I'd used my magic to do it," Mildred went on.

"It's possible. Magic can do many great things," Ethel replied, "what do I have to do on the dance mat?"

"You want to go now?"

"Yeah, it looks better than the type of dancing I had to put up with growing up," Ethel said in explanation. "Many witch families force their children into dancing lessons since dance is a great way to become graceful and fit enough to ride a broomstick. Anyway, what do I have to do?"

After Mildred had explained the rules to her, Ethel found it very easy to dance on the dance mat while the computer recorded her score. As she jumped about the mat, Ethel found herself enjoying the experience, though she knew her parents and her old dance instructors would be frowning at what she was doing. They had a strict view of dancing and what was proper, but Ethel didn't care. As she danced across the mat, she found herself moving faster than she should have done and like Mildred, she moved so fast that even Ethel had to wonder why her magic was playing up like this. When Ethel was finished with the dance mat she sat back on the couch and panted.

"Have fun?" Mildred teased.

Ethel nodded breathlessly.

"I wonder why our magic makes us do that, move so fast," Mildred commented.

Ethel shrugged. "I don't know," she said, already thinking about her sisters. "Do you think if Esmerelda and Sybil comes round for a visit they'd enjoy the mat?"

Mildred chuckled. "Do they get bored with the dancing lessons?" she asked pointedly.

"Oh yeah," Ethel grinned. "Definitely."

"Then they will," Mildred said, "Oh I love that game. What's wrong?" she asked when she noticed the look on Ethel's face.

Ethel had frowned suddenly with her eyes crinkling with curiosity. "If you like that dance mat, then how come you're terrible at push ups?"

Mildred laughed as she remembered the painful exercises Miss Drill and Miss Hardbroom had forced on her and Ethel during the Spelling Bee competition; she still wasn't sure what the point had been, though she had a guess it was a type of warmup. "I'm not used to the exercise," she said as she folded the dance mat and put it back neatly. "I prefer full body exercises instead of something like push ups."

Ethel shrugged, it made sense to her. "When will Julie be back?"

"She said over the phone she'll be here in an hours' time, what do you want to do?" Mildred added somewhat nervously.

"What are your holidays like, I mean, when your mother's not here and at work?" Ethel shot back.

Mildred shrugged. "Er, well I use the dance mat," she gestured at the place she'd put the mat, "I watch a movie, I surf the internet. I paint, I draw. When mum and I are here, I go tagging with my friends-,"

"Tagging?" Ethel interrupted. "What's that?"

Mildred grinned. "Graffiti," she answered.

Ethel gaped at her in surprise. She had known Mildred was an artist, but she'd never known she would take it that far. "I've seen graffiti on walls, some of it looks awful."

Mildred was offended. "Hey, not all of it. Some graffiti artists spend hours, sometimes days working on a wall."

Realising it was serious, Ethel held up her hands. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry," she apologised. "What's it like?"

Mildred's offended look faded. "Well, I think its liberating. You can do whatever you want, and you only have to spray on a wall. It's liberating because many people don't like you spray painting on walls."

Ethel gaped at her again, she had never imagined Mildred Hubble sticking two fingers up at the law. "Do you spray paint on other peoples walls, and do you get caught?" she asked, she needed to know if she'd become the foster sister to a criminal though she wasn't complaining.

Mildred shrugged casually. "Sometimes," she said.

Ethel almost burst out laughing, but she didn't. She had thought Julie Hubble had raised Mildred to be law-abiding, but it was clear that Mildred was something of a baddie. She liked that.

"Do Maud and Enid know?"

Mildred frowned, "Know what, that I like spray painting on other people's walls, and I enjoy defacing public and private property though not all the time? Of course they do. Maud scolded me a little bit, but I showed her some pictures of what I did. She even admitted they were good. Enid was surprised; she'd always assumed I was a mix between her and Maud, but the thing is while I don't go around hurting people or stealing anything, I like being an artist."

Ethel was surprised by the raw passion in Mildred's voice, but she found herself grinning. "Mildred," she began coyly, but before she could say what she wanted to do, Mildred interrupted her with a grunt of mock irritation. "Don't tell me," she said in a tone that was easily fake exasperation though the twinkle in her eye told Ethel she was more amused than annoyed, "you want to come out tagging with me?"

Ethel grinned. "Yeah, please," she begged.

Mildred rolled her eyes. "I'll think about it," she returned.

Ethel clapped her hands, inwardly wondering when she had become like Sybil, like a child. "Oh thanks!"

Mildred rolled her eyes again. "Child!" she snorted.

Ethel gaped at her. "Grouch!"

"Egghead!"

"Nitwit!"

"Nitwit? Is that the best you can do?" Mildred asked with a smirk.

Ethel shrugged. "I don't really play this game with Sybil or Esme," she replied apologetically, wishing she had a bit more wit. "I always fight with Sybil."

"With your hands and magic?" Mildred guessed and Ethel nodded. "Don't worry, I'm not that good either."

When Julie Hubble got back to the flat she found Mildred and Ethel watching How to Train Your Dragon, but the moment she entered the flat the movie was abandoned and Mildred and Ethel jumped up at the same time and rushed towards her. Julie laughed even though both girls were stopping her from getting to the kitchenette so they could eat. But she didn't care.

"Oh, I'm so happy to see you both," she gushed and kissed and hugged both girls equally, something which made the more reserved blond girl flush in surprise, she had never been greeted with such passion before in her life from her mother. "How was term?"

"It was great," Mildred replied.

"What are we going to be doing this summer?" Ethel asked almost hesitantly.

Julie smiled at her kindly. "Let's have dinner first and then we'll have a talk. Mildred, could you turn the TV off, please?"

Ethel had never eaten Chinese before, but while the food looked a little bit greasy she had to admit it tasted very good, and when they were finished she was asked by Julie to sit and watch. Ethel sat quietly as she watched her new foster mother and foster sister clean up the kitchen and the plates of the meal. As she watched them Ethel realised that Julie would expect her to do some of this in the future, and she also realised pretty quickly that she could not wriggle out of it. While it was true Hallows didn't clean, they were also practical. Ethel knew that if she wanted to be accepted into this family she would need to grow out of that belief she was immune to something simple, and besides the flat wasn't that big. How hard could it be?

Ethel was surprised when Julie asked Mildred to go to the living room, leaving her with her new foster daughter. "I know I'm going to have to clean the flat-." Ethel said, but Julie interrupted.

"Not quite," Julie said. "Yeah, you and Mildred will have chores, and you'll expected to clean up after yourselves. Mildred knows what to expect. But that is not what I wanted to say to you. Oh, its nothing bad," she added quickly when she saw the look on the blond girls face. "I just wanted to say I was sorry that I wasn't here when you and Millie arrived, and I also wanted to tell you that I'm not going to just dismiss you like your mother did. I will be at the hospital, and as a result there may be times when you and Mildred will have to spend time amongst yourselves. Do you have a problem with that?"

"If you're thinking I'm going to turn her into a frog again then don't worry, Mildred and I have resolved our differences," Ethel replied. In her mind she guessed it made sense for Julie to be wary about it, so she wasn't surprised.

Julie nodded. "Okay. I'm going to be frank, I was worried that you and Mildred were going to tear this flat to bits."

Ethel laughed. "I wasn't."

Julie smiled at her. "Listen," she began nervously. "We are going to be staying in the flat for a short time, to let you get used to living here with us, but you should know something; when Mildred is around, sometimes I don't like her being here on her own, so I have to take her to the hospital."

Ethel felt a sinking feeling in her chest. Julie saw her expression. "Sorry, but I don't like my daughters being on their own," she said.

Ethel blinked and tears sprang to her eyes. "You called me your daughter?" she whispered.

Julie blinked in surprise. "I've adopted you," she said, "what else would you be?"

Ethel smiled shyly, cursing her weaknesses and looked at her. "What sort of things are we going to be doing?" she asked to get over the idea of having a parent in her life who was willing to go the extra mile. She felt a pang in her heart at the thought of Esme; her big sister had always mothered her, and now she'd been adopted by Julie Hubble. She wondered what Esme was doing at the moment.

* * *

At that moment, Esmerelda Hallow was sitting as expected in her family mansion; back straight, head held high, while smartly dressed even though she was only having dinner with her family, though she would only call her youngest sister family at the moment. Like her, Sybil was dressed smartly, but unlike Esme, as the youngest Sybil was not expected to be as straight backed as Esmerelda.

Esmerelda sighed sadly as she once more let her eyes wander over to the seat where Ethel had once sat. It had been the first day back to her home, and already Esmerelda felt as though a piece of her heart had been torn out of her chest by her younger sister's absence. Esmerelda honestly didn't know how she was supposed to cope with this since Ethel and Sybil were her life. She had Sybil with her, definitely, but that was not the same. She missed Ethel and she was not the only one.

Sybil, being the youngest, wore her heart on her sleeve, and she had been truly upset by Ethel's absence. But the two sisters didn't say anything about Ethel, knowing full well that the subject would not be allowed at the table though their parents didn't seem bothered. Esmerelda glanced at her parents. They didn't seem to care about Ethel's absence, though after what had been revealed over the past term she was unsurprised. Her parents had been embarrassed by the Great Wizard, but Esmerelda had no real idea what kind of backlash they'd received or even if it had happened. She hadn't heard anything definitive, but that was not unsurprising. Her parents were powerful, they had businesses and connections in dozens of areas. It wouldn't take much for them to silence protests or anything like Ethel.

But that didn't or couldn't stop the Great Wizard or even Josephine Hallow from doing or saying something that could cause her parents problems in the long run. Esmerelda wondered if that would happen at some point, but she guessed the Great Wizard considered the matter closed. There was nothing in the code about having more than one kid, and there was nothing in the code about perfection, so he wasn't going to do anything.

But that didn't mean Grandma Josephine wouldn't do anything.

The older woman may have passed on the family business over to the next generation as was traditional, but she had set up her own business afterwards in her 'retirement' so she would be virtually immune from any backlash. Esmerelda would need to send her a message while being aware of the time difference between Britain and Australia.

She hoped the older Hallow did do something to make her parents regret their behaviour, she still had the power to make life difficult for her parents, and she hoped that she made life very uncomfortable indeed.

Esmerelda wondered what it was about Ethel that had made her parents consider her imperfect, but if she was honest she didn't care - their arrogance and negligence had pushed Ethel away. Esmerelda wanted to break her posture, but she knew that her parents noticed everything about their children when they ate. They'd be on her in a heartbeat if she slumped in her seat or did anything they didn't consider perfect.

She wondered what was happening over at the Hubbles' and wondered what Ethel was doing at the moment. She turned to her parents who were still talking about work while ignoring her and Sybil. Esmerelda hoped her parents didn't expect her to do much at all this summer, she didn't care about the competitions they'd probably schedule for her.

When dinner was over, Mr Hallow looked over at his eldest daughter like he hadn't allowed his middle daughter to be adopted into someone else's care. The very fact he was acting like nothing had happened infuriated Esmerelda, and she wanted nothing more than to curse her parents into the next century.

"Now, Esmerelda," her father announced, "because of your….grandmother, you will not be doing that many competitions this summer."

Esmerelda kept her expression very blank as she absorbed the news. Inwardly she was jumping up and down - she had been so tempted to mess up some of the competitions to mess with her parents and put an end to their bragging, but to make them regret what they'd done to Ethie, though it was doubtful they would have made the connection. Her grandmother had definitely come through for her this time, but she wondered how long it would be before her grandmother's influence waned to the point where her parents felt confident they could govern her life like they had for years.

"But you will still be expected to pass a few competitions," her mother took up the thread, "but your grandmother has made it clear the time you and Sybil have this summer is your own, to do with as you please."

It amused Esmerelda that they referred to Josephine as 'grandmother' without caring about her achievements which had helped grow the family's prestige over a long period, but what caught her attention the most was how Josephine had made it clear to her parents she and Sybil could more or less do whatever they wanted over the summer holidays.

"During the summer, your grandmother will take you to…. her," he trailed off, rolling the last word around in his mouth like it was a bad taste but both Esmerelda and Sybil knew he was referring to Ethel.

Esmerelda spared her sister a glance, and saw how sad she was. Sybil had noticed the way Ethel had been mentioned, and she truly didn't like it.

It was truly sad that they were referring to their own daughter, Sybil and Esmerelda's sister, like she was just someone else. When their parents, deciding the discussion was over, went back to their earlier discussion while they shooed their children away from the table so they could speak together in peace though they didn't need to bother, Esmerelda took her little sister to her bedroom.

Sybil was only just holding it together, and Esmerelda knew that only long experience had kept the usually emotional girl from breaking out into tears. Their parents didn't like their children showing emotion - to them, children were to be seen an not heard.

"H-how could they do that, talk about Ethel like she doesn't even matter, like she's a demon?" Sybil whispered.

"They've always done that," Esmerelda told her sister as she sat on the bed.

Sybil licked her lips. "Are you angry?"

"With who?"

"With Mildred and Miss Hubble? I mean, Ethel is living with them now," Sybil asked hesitantly.

"I was angry at first," Esmerelda admitted, "but I'm more angry with our parents for what they've done. I don't hate either Mildred or Julie."

Esmerelda was telling the truth. She had been angry at first, but after that meeting with their parents, she had grown to despise them. Julie and Mildred had not done anything wrong, and at least with them, Ethel would be okay.

Sybil looked at her hands. "Esme, what are they looking for in a kid, it doesn't make sense? I mean, they say you and me are perfect, but we're not."

Esmerelda looked down at her hands. "I don't know what it means either, Sybil."

The older girl didn't want to tell her younger sister she had begun to fear for the mental wellbeing of their parents, because even for them what they had done was abnormal.

Sybil's eyes were bright with tears as she looked up at Esmerelda, who instinctively wrapped her arms around the smaller girl. "I-I don't want them to hurt me in the same way," she whimpered in her big sisters embrace, "but if they do, I might ask the Hubbles' or Granny Jo to adopt me."

Esmerelda's heart clenched in anger at the callous way her parents were tearing the family to pieces. "I will probably do the same thing," she reassured Sybil, promising herself to be there for her. And she would - Esmerelda had grown sick and tired of her parents, and if somehow she and Sybil were given the chance to leave, then she would take it. If her parents realised only when it was late what had happened, then that was their problem.

Esmerelda was done caring.

* * *

Unaware of the turmoil tearing her sisters to pieces, Ethel followed Mildred as the brunette girl led her through the neighbourhood with a feeling of trepidation. Mildred hadn't told her anything about what they were doing or where they were going, all she had told her was they were going to have some fun. All Ethel knew was she would be spending the day with her new sister while Julie had left for work, but it was on a day where her daughter, or daughters as the case was now, would be spending their time at the flat or walking around.

It was so strange having a third sister instead of the usual two, and if anyone had hold her that she would be adopted by Julie Hubble of all people then she would have laughed, but in a way Mildred was already her sister though not in the familial sense.

Mildred had founded the coven known as the Hair Raisers, and Ethel was a member along with Enid, Maud, Drusilla, and Felicity with Ada Cackle's blessing, but that was it.

But now they were foster sisters, Ethel wanted to get to know Mildred better. It was early days and she was still overwhelmed by everything that had happened recently over the past term.

Ethel was kind of glad for that since she didn't really want to spend too much time at the hospital even if she enjoyed Julie's company. She had seen more than one doctor and nurse at the hospital during her stay, but she had no idea what Julie had said to them about her adoption.

When Ethel had woken up in a strange bed, in a room smaller than anything she was used to, she had almost panicked before she remembered where she was before she had met Julie and Mildred for breakfast. That was the first time she had ever had to clean up after herself; Julie had done the washing and she and Mildred had dried the stuff (she had dried while Mildred had taken the bowls, plates, cups, and put them away), before Mildred had dragged her out to wherever they were going now.

Mildred was walking slightly ahead of her, carrying a black satchel which was at least the same size as her chest, but it didn't look as heavy as Ethel imagined it to be.

Finally Mildred led her to a place in the town which made her smile as she remembered what her dark-haired sister had mentioned last night about her hobbies. There were walls with people, some of them teenagers or preteens, a few adults spray painting on walls. The walls were covered in pictures and writing, some of which looked like a child's scrawl.

"Do you come here all the time?" Ethel asked Mildred as they drew closer.

"I come whenever I have the time," Mildred replied. "Hi guys!" she hollered.

Everyone turned around happily at the sound of Mildred's call."Mildred!"

"Millie!"

"You look great!" Someone called out.

"Who's the blond?"

Mildred smiled. "Long time no see, guys. How's it going?"

A tall, stringy youth wearing what looked like a white and black leather jacket whose skin looked like it had recently received a visit from acne and it was half out of the door again in five minutes came over and grinned. "Mildred," he said. "Where've you been?"

"School, Darren," Mildred grinned then her eyes crinkled. "When did you get out?"

"Ah," Darren waved a hand dismissively. "The rozzers let me out a few days 'fore you went back to school."

"Still can't believe they arrested you for that," Mildred shook her head, ignoring Ethel's look of surprise that she knew people who'd been arrested. "All you did was spray paint the town hall. They could clean it off."

Darren looked a bit annoyed. "They made me clean it off, along with half a dozen others. Community service. I tell ya, kid, its murder."

Mildred shook her head for some reason that Ethel couldn't work out, but she decided to move things on. "Erm, Mildred?" she said.

"Oh, sorry, Ethel," she replied, looking at her as if only just remembering she was there, and Ethel rolled her eyes. "Darren, this is my foster sister, Ethel. Ethel this is Darren, resident bad boy, but big softie underneath."

Darren shrugged. "Softie," he muttered, clearly not agreeing one hundred percent with the description but not saying anything about it at all, but he didn't seem too bothered. "Nice to meet ya," he suddenly said, stepping closer to Ethel, who was surprised with how swiftly he moved. He was like a cat given human form.

Ethel almost gave the 'Well met' greeting when she remembered non-magical people didn't greet each other that way. "Nice to meet you too," she parroted back at Darren while holding back her feelings. She had never really seen boys in all her life, the only men in her life up to this point had been her father, and some of the servants her family retained before she had met Mr Rowan-Webb. The only boy she had met that was around her age had been Zac, the boy from Pentangles (she would not think about him now), but she still wasn't sure how to behave around boys who were older than 11, never mind 20 year olds. She held out her hand for him to shake, thankful that that greeting was present in both worlds. Ethel was finally getting an idea of how clueless Mildred had been when she'd first arrived at Cackles when it came to customs.

Darren grinned at her while he shook her hand and glanced Mildred. "You wanna teach her how to graffiti?" he asked.

Mildred grinned back at him. "How did you guess?"

"Just a guess," he replied before leading them over to a fairly decent patch of wall. "Want me to teach her, or do you want to do it?" he asked.

Mildred had no intention of letting Ethel be on her own and reveal something she shouldn't just yet. "I'll teach her the basics, but if she likes it then you can teach her a few things, how does that sound?" she asked instead.

Darren shrugged. "Yeah, that's okay," he said, "you're better than me in some places. She's brilliant," he added for Ethel's benefit, "she's got a gift with graffiti."

After Darren had spoken to Mildred for a few minutes, he walked off and left the two young girls to their own devices. Ethel leaned against the wall while her new dark-haired sister unzipped the bag and took out a number of silver cans, and two masks.

"I didn't know you were popular," she commented.

Mildred chuckled while she checked over the spray cans, hoping she hadn't left anything behind. "I joined this bunch of reprobates a while back. They taught me a whole new corner of art. Sure, some of them get into trouble with the law, but as they say you have to live a little. Darren's just one of a number of taggers who doesn't hate the law, but he views it with indifference."

"Does he get arrested often?" Ethel asked.

"Yeah, he does, but truly he's not looking for trouble." Mildred passed Ethel a mask. "I don't like the fumes from the paint," she told her.

Ethel slipped it on over his blond hair, but she didn't place it over her mouth just yet. "What are you going to teach me?" she asked.

"Just the basics to start off with, and then we'll take it from there," Mildred replied before handing Ethel a spray can of black paint. After the two girls had slipped their masks on, Mildred showed Ethel the basics of how to spray paint. The blond girl had always pictured art to be a boring process, but she had seen Sybil draw a thing or two happily without their parents getting in the way.

Mildred was a good teacher. She was patient, too. When they started, Mildred had her point the can at the wall, shake it a little to mix the paint, and then spray for a few seconds before the dark haired girl stopped her. Ethel was then shown how to direct the can to spray specific amounts of the paint; she was taught how to 'paint' a thin line, a thick line, and then a blot on the wall. With that knowledge, Mildred made her draw simple shapes before moving on to objects. Once Ethel had mastered the basics there, she and Mildred began 'writing' messages on the wall. At first it was like writing a message on a piece of paper, only with a spray can. But after a few minutes Mildred believed Ethel had mastered the basics enough for them to being building the messages up and filling them with colour to give them a more 3 dimensional appearance.

Ethel was a fast learner, and judging from the expression that Mildred could see even with the mask covering the blond witch's face, Ethel was truly enjoying herself.

When the two girls were finished they packed up and left for home to drop off the spray cans and then they headed back out so Mildred could give Ethel a tour of the neighbourhood.

* * *

Ethel was settling in nicely in the Hubbles' flat, and when she mirror called Esmerelda her big sister answered immediately. But the moment Ethel took a good look at her sister's face, she saw Esmerelda looked strained.

But that didn't mean the older girl wasn't happy to see her. "Ethie, how are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm doing fantastic, but how are you and Sybil? Have they given you any problems?" Ethel asked, knowing that if she told her sister what she'd been doing over the last few days then it would depress Esmerelda because she wasn't there to see how happy she was, and Ethel did not want to do that.

Esmerelda grimaced, knowing "they" were their parents. "Not really. They haven't pushed me into doing stupid competitions, but they have dragged me to an opera once or twice," the grimace tightened and she now looked like she had swallowed something disgusting that truly unsettled her stomach, "but granny's influence is stopping them pushing us too far."

"How long do you think it will last?" Ethel thought the question was a valid one.

Esmerelda shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "Sybil's spending more and more time away from home. Mum and dad aren't bothered, and I doubt they'd even care if they knew Sybil doesn't want to become ignored like you were."

Ethel's heart ached when she heard that. She had never intended for her sister to go through the same thing she had, but she had never imagined Sybil could become so jaded by her parents and their perfectionist attitudes which were pretty weird she would go out of her way to avoid them. Her guilty feelings were clearly visible because Esmerelda instantly said, "Ethie, its not your fault. Sybil was going to have to face up to what mother and father are like."

"I know, but I just wish it hadn't happened like this," Ethel replied quietly despite knowing she would never be sorry for getting away from her parents questionable care.

Desperate to turn the depressing subject away, Esmerelda suddenly smiled. "Are you guys ready for us?"

Ethel grinned back at her sister. A few days ago, Josephine Hallow had contacted her and Julie to arrange a time when she could bring Esmerelda and Sybil around to the flat. Julie, despite her nervousness, had invited the three to dinner. Ethel and Mildred were both surprised by how Julie and Josephine seemed to be getting along, but they could tell by how stressed out Julie was she was scared of what the older woman was going to say when she saw the flat. Ethel didn't think the flat was that bad, and she had told Julie a hundred times that Granny Hallow was coming around to visit, and it was unlikely she would be derogatory towards it. But Julie was still worried.

"Definitely," she replied. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," Esmerelda sniffled; Ethel felt even more guilty at the sight of Esme's watering eyes.

Julie, who was listening to the conversation while Ethel tried to steer the conversation onto far less depressing topics, felt just as upset for the girls. She only hoped things didn't become disastrous during the dinner.

All three inhabitants of the flat were nervous when the other Hallows came, for different reasons; for Ethel, it was because she would be seeing her sisters, and while she was happy to see them she had no idea what they'd be like after a few days without her around. Another thing she was worried about was whether they would be jealous of her having fun. She and Mildred had gone to the cinema for a few hours the day before, and they had had fun. For Julie, she was worried about how the Hallows would take her flat and her cooking. For Mildred, she was worried about what the Hallow sisters would do when they got here, and how they would treat her and her mother.

When the Hallows finally arrived, escorted by their grandmother, Mildred opened the door. "Hello," she said, "come on in."

Oblivious to the curious look sent her way by the older version of the same person she had met when she and Ethel had been rescued in the past by Ada Cackle, Mildred led them into the flat.

Josephine could see the stress in Julie's eyes and knew the poor woman must have gone to a lot of trouble to make them feel at home. She had the feeling that the Hubbles' were worried about what she and her other grandchildren would say about them and their home, but Josephine had lived in flats and bungalows that weren't as well furnished as the manors her family had long since been accustomed to. But she wondered how she could make Julie understand it didn't bother her. In fact she could see the homely touches instantly, and she smiled when she saw the drawings, the quirky knick-knacks, and the strangely familiar black cat lounging with a tabby cat on a couch. Josephine eyed the cat thoughtfully for a second, a memory tugging in her mind before she shrugged it off before she held out her arms for Ethel. The blond threw herself into the older woman's embrace happily in greeting before she let go with a big smile before she hugged her sisters.

"Hello," Julie greeted, hoping her nervousness was well hidden after Ethel had let go of Sybil.

Josephine smiled, hoping the younger woman was put at ease. "Hello Julie. Thank you for having us."

"You're welcome, do want to sit in the living room while I finish cooking?" Julie asked while Sybil looked around the flat curiously.

In the end Mildred and Ethel led the other two sisters into the living room while Julie and Josephine went to the kitchen. In the living room, Ethel pulled Mildred aside and whispered something in her ear, which intrigued Sybil and Esmerelda. "Okay, sure," Mildred said and before the bemused eyes of Esme and Sybil they pulled out and set up the dance mat.

Ethel had wanted to show the dance mat off to her sisters ever since she'd first used it with Mildred. The two of them had danced on the mat a few times since, but she desperately wanted to share the fun with Esme and Sybil.

"What're you doing?" Esme asked curiously.

"You'll see," Ethel replied with a smile. A few minutes later, she and Mildred were jumping on the dance mat before her two sisters. Soon Mildred jumped off it, and gestured for one of the sisters to take a turn. Esmerelda was the first to try it, though her early attempts were slow and rather clumsy. Like her two younger sisters, Esmerelda had learnt how to dance, all to prepare her for marriage though truly she had never known a time when her parents had ever bothered to go dancing. Ever.

It sometimes made her wonder if her parents were just wasting her time and Sybil's and Ethel's by forcing them to learn how to dance. But here, Esmerelda felt happy because she didn't have some arrogant dance instructor using spells to push her body into the right positions and harshly rebuking her if her stance was less than one inch out.

But here she felt free jumping across the mat, and the clapping she was getting from a clearly entered Sybil and Mildred was pushed to the side since she was dancing with her sister.

"This is great!" Esmerelda called out to her sister.

"I know," Ethel called back.

When Ethel had finally had enough, an eager Sybil took her place; the younger girl was squealing with delight and laughter as she jumped over the mat.

The girls didn't realise they had an audience. Josephine Hallow and Julie were watching after poking their heads around the corner.

"She looks so much more happier, carefree," Josephine commented quietly to the woman, her heart aching in sadness since she could have done something to help Ethel, Esme and Sybil. Instead she had focused on her own life, confident until it was too late that her grandchildren were well cared for. Instead they were seen as dolls, to be shown off and then put on a shelf to look nice.

"Yes, she does," Julie replied, "they all do."

Josephine took a deep breath. "I hate this, I hate myself for not being there for them all."

"Do you mind if I ask something?"

"Certainly, please do."

"Did you know what Ethel's parents were doing?"

Josephine sighed. "I knew some of it. One of the reasons I left the country was because I was so tired. When I heard I had more than two granddaughters, I was thrilled but I didn't care about Esme being the eldest. I love all three of them equally. But I did know enough to be worried. Esmerelda and Sybil were being lauded while Ethel was pushed to the side. I even started gathering legal evidence when I heard the story of how Ethel was seen as imperfect and when I first saw her mother snap at her harshly for doing something trivial. It worried me so much, motherly intuition, and so I prepared to take custody of Ethel, and even Esmerelda and Sybil if need be."

"But what stopped you?"

Josephine sighed again. "Age. Time and distance. Cackles. The fact I didn't have enough evidence. I'm not as young as I was and I wanted to spend the rest of my life in Australia. My husband and I went there on holiday quite a few times over the years, and I loved the place. I had good memories of the place. I wanted to emigrate there after my husband died, I wanted to be in a place where our memories were strongest. But Australia is a long way away, and that would have caused problems for when Ethel went to Cackles. It's possible to transfer a girl to a different school, of course, but the code makes it tricky. I could have arranged for Ethel to live somewhere in Britain, or I could have found other arrangements."

She closed her eyes. "I am thankful the Great Wizard owed Ada and I a few favours and learnt enough about the situation to help."

The older woman spared Julie a soft smile gleaming with gratitude with just a touch of sorrow. "I'm grateful someone better than that sorry excuse and myself are looking after her now," she said.

"Don't say that, its like you said - you were too far away, and you didn't have enough evidence," Julie said.

Josephine did not look convinced. When it finally came to dinner, the older woman was cheerful enough when Ethel talked about what had happened since. Josephine had been taught as a child to never speak unless spoken to, at least when there were guests, otherwise her parents had been very down to Earth. She was just sorry she had not passed it on to the next generation. The Hubbles' didn't care about protocol, and for that Josephine was eternally grateful. She hated it when children were quiet, it was unnatural.

She wasn't sure what to make of the graffiti art Mildred had introduced Ethel to, but Josephine didn't mind since Ethel seemed more passionate about things other than spells and potions. It was a relief, more than anything, she had learnt there were so many other things to life than studying.

But Josephine had a problem. Ever since she had arrived at the flat, she had often found herself staring at Mildred in confusion. She was sure she had seen the dark-haired girl before, but she couldn't remember when.

As they ate, Josephine's curiosity got the better of her.

"I'm sorry, Mildred, but I'm sure you remind me of somebody-." she said, letting her voice trail off. But Mildred knew precisely what the older witch was talking about.

"Was that somebody a dark-haired girl with her hair in plaits, with a red sash around her waist, taking a black cat from you?" Mildred asked, holding back the urge to smile.

Ethel looked between Mildred and her grandmother for a moment before it came to her. The Mists of Time. Her grandmother had gone to school with Ada and Agatha, so it stood to reason that Mildred had bumped into her gran at some point, but the mention of the black cat stymied her until she realised that the cat was Nightstar.

Josephine didn't try to hide her surprise. "How do you know about that?" she asked before her eyes widened. "That girl was you?"

Julie gave her daughter a piercing look. "I think you should explain, Mildred," she said.

Mildred shrugged. "Oh well, the Mists of Time had fallen over Cackles - its basically a magical time machine," she added for her mother's benefit, "anyway, Nightstar was caught in the mists and transported back through time to when you," she addressed Josephine, "were a student at Cackles. I went with Ethel to get the cat back, and I found you with the cat."

Josephine blinked in surprise. The story rang true in her mind. The cat had come to her, and being a girl born into a magical family she had known the cat had a witch and yet it had come to her though she hadn't minded. And then this crazy girl had come to her babbling, but Josephine could barely remember what the girl had said at the time, but she did remember it though she'd put it aside; the school was reeling from the near expulsion of Agatha Cackle, and the near expulsion of Mona Spellbody, and life had gone on.

"That was you?" she whispered, though she didn't know why her mind was having a hard time believing it.

"Yes," Mildred replied.

Josephine looked between Ethel and Mildred. She had heard the two had not entirely seen eye to eye at first, but the fact the girl was compassionate to go back in time and even risk being trapped there spoke volumes of her character. Josephine had been worried about how Ethel was doing here, but she was confident Ethel and Mildred would be great sisters.

* * *

When dinner was over, the girls had ice-cream, and that was when there was a little bit of trouble.

"How come you've got more than me?!" Ethel glared at Mildred.

The dark haired girl looked bemusedly at the bowl and compared it to Esme's and Sybil's. "I do not," she protested, determined not to win this fight. "Look, there's plenty more-."

"Just think next time, okay!"

Josephine and Julie shared a look, the older woman asking with her eyes if this was typical. Julie rolled her eyes. "Girls," she said sternly. "That is enough."

But neither girl were listening, both of them were too involved in their silly argument. Finally, it reached a point where Sybil, of all people, became so tired of it that she flicked a spoonful of ice-cream at both girls' faces.

One moment Mildred and Ethel had been prepared to declare all-out war, the next they were wiping their faces of ice-cream.

"What the-?"

"Who did that?!" Mildred asked, annoyed.

A very amused Esmerelda gestured towards an innocent looking Sybil, eating her dessert like nothing was happening.

"Ethel-," Josephine warned when the blond witch shared a look with Mildred.

"Mildred-," Julie's voice carried the same warning tone as the Hallow sister's grandmother, but neither girl listened. Both of them grinned at each other, and they both used their spoons to launch a volley at Sybil!

The younger girl squealed in surprise as her face was covered in chocolate ice-cream. Then she used her spoon to return fire!

Esmerelda tried to stop the fight, but she too got some ice-cream on her face. "Oh, you've done it now!" she hollered.

Watching the four girls fire their desserts at each other made Josephine and Julie glance at one another before a mischievous grin spread across both their faces. Using her spoon, the older Hallow sent a splat of ice-cream straight at Esmerelda. The teenager gasped in shock as she felt it go straight into her face. She looked up and saw the laughing face of her grandmother!

"Gran!"

Mildred gasped herself when she too received a cold splat to her left eye. She saw the grin on her mothers' face. "Mum!"

The two older women gasped in shock as the four girls sent volley after volley at them before they eventually used up all of their ice-cream.

"Wait a second," Julie called as Mildred hurried with Ethel in tow to grab a towel to clean themselves off. She came back with a camera. "Just a couple of pictures, for our albums."

The girls and Josephine posed for the pictures and Julie snapped off a couple of shots. "I'll develop the pictures and then send them off to you."

Josephine smiled. She and Esmerelda could already have used a photographed the scene, but they'd decided to let Julie have her fun.

Still, it felt nice to be in a food fight.


End file.
